OFFICIAL REPORTS 

OF THE 

ODT-ISMIDS OF THE BAHAMAS, 

BY 

THOS. 0. HARVEY, C.E., M.A. 

jCIVIL ENGINEER AND ASSISTANT SURVEYOR-GENERAL TO TH$ 
BAHAMAS, AND INSPECTOR Of LIGHTHOUSES* 



23 1 



2'f 



OFFICIAL REPORTS 



OF THE 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS : 



BY 



THOS. CHAPMAN HARVEY, Esq. 



Civil Engineer and Assistant Surveyor General to the Bahamas. 



3 3 3 ^33 5 



PUBLISHED BY 

T. DARLING, J. M. CONNOR, THOMAS WILLIAMS, 

Committee of the Inhabitants of Nassau. 

1858. 




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ERRATA 



page 10, 


line 


20, 


For 


" of," read to. 


„ 1% 


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19. 


For 


£< brougt," read brought. 


3.1 22, 


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<3. 


For 


" establishment," read Establishment, 


*, 42, 


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7. 


For 


" there," read here. 


m 66, 


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18. 


For 


" and I am," read that I am. 


72, 


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23. 


For 


" was," read were. 


*> 78, 




12. 


For 


" answer," read answers. 


„ 86, 




24. 


For 


" has," read have. 


» 87, 


II 


23. 


For 


" 87 miles," read 87 acres. 


*, 104, 


11 


18. 


For 


" those," read these. 


„ 119, 


If 


37. 


For 


" residency," read Residency. 


„ 121, 


II 




Far 


(Commissioners* residences.") rea.cl 










(Commissioner's residence, 


„ 114, 


II 


4. 


For 


" but," read only, 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Letter to His Excellency, Sir Alexander Bannerman 5 

The Governor's Reply 5 

Letter on the Public Works of Inagua — April, 1855 6 

Report on the state of the Public Works at Inagua, 
Fortune Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, Norman's 
Pond Cay, Exuma, St. Salvador and Rock Sound; 
Resources of Inagua ; Salt Ponds ; Allotments for 

Laborers ; Interinsular Communication 9 

Report on Athol Island; Quarantine Station; Formation of 

Sandbar; Narrows; Nassau Harbor 26 

Report on Fire Engines 30 

Report on Andros Island; Timber; Tar; Myrtle Wax; 

Submarine Caverns 34 

Report on Harbor Island; a portion of Eleuthera, including 

Spanish Wells; the Bluff and Royal Island 37 

Letter on Salt Pond Labor and Allotment System. ....... 44 

Message from the House of Assembly to the Governor. ... 48 

Report on the Islands of Abaco, several of the adjacent 
Cays, and the Grand Bahama ; Pineapples; Fibrous 
Plants; Good Shipwrights; Hawks Bill Creek; Inter- 
insular Steam Communication 49 

Letter on the Rental and Unscientific Arrangement of the 

Salt Ponds of this Colony 61 



i 



CONTENTS. 



Report on Eleuthera, St. Salvador, Conception Island, 
Rum Cay, Watling's, Fortune Island, Acklin, Inagua, 
Long Island, Exuma, and Norman's Pond Cay; Pal- 
metto Plant; Salt Pond Canals ; Need of Roads ; 
Cotton; the Small Cays; Salt Pond Canals; Protection 

for Salt Pans; Beacon on Ship Channel Cay 67 

Letter on Quarantine Station; Octagonal Buildings 95 

Message from the House of Assembly to the Governor. ... 100 

The Governor's Reply 100 

Letter on Convict Labor 102 

Message from the House of Assembly to the Governor... . 107 
Report on Little Exuma, Ragged Island and adjacent 
Cays ; Fortune Island, Long Island, Atwood's Cay, 

Maricuana, Inagua, and Rum Cay 108 

Report on Harbor Island, and part of Eleuthera 122 

Message from the Governor to the House of Assembly. ... 122 

Letter on the Tenure of Salt Ponds 126 

Resolutions of a Committee of the House of Assembly. . . 132 



BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



To His Excellency Sir Alexander Bannerman, Knight, Governor 
and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Bahama Islands, 
and Ordinary of the same, &c. &c. &c. 

We, Inhabitants of Nassau, New Providence, deeming the 
Reports of the Out Island Civil Engineer of such importance 
to the Colony, do beg- that Your Excellency will sanction our 
publishing the Official Reports and Documents of that gentleman 
in pamphlet form, for general circulation. 

(Signed) Timothy Darling, 

" William Marshall, 

And others. 



Colonial Secretary's Office, Nassau, N. P. 
7th April, 1857. 

Gentlemen : 

In reply to your communication received this day, requesting 
the Governor to sanction your publishing the Official Reports 
and Documents of the Out Island Civil Engineer, in pamphlet 
form, for general circulation, I subjoin a copy of a Minute 
which His Excellency has been pleased to make thereon. 
I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) C. R, Nesbitt, Col'l Sec'y. 

(minute copy.) 

The Governor can have no objection to the publication of the 
Documents in question, in the shape of a pamphlet, for general 
circulation, provided the parties will bear the expense of such 
publication, as it might establish a bad precedent if it were 
otherwise done. 

(Signed) A. BANNERMAN, Governor. 

7th April, 1857. 

Messrs. Timothy Darling, Wm. Marshall, Michael E. Knowles, 
Daniel S. Farrington, James M. Connor, and others. 



LETTEE 

ON 

THE PUBLIC WORKS OF INAGUA. 



Mathew Town, Inagua, 
April 26th, 1855. 

Sir: 

I beg to acknowledge the receipt, by the Govern- 
ment schooner, of directions respecting a road at 
Long Island, and of a letter from the Crown Com- 
missioner of Inagua. Since I sent my letter of April 
19th, to announce my arrival 'at this place, I have, 
according to His Excellency's instructions, communi- 
cated with the Crown Commissioner, Mr. Meadows, 
the company's agent for the salt ponds, and many of 
the lessees, and I find that the inhabitants generally 
feel the necessity that exists for various public works 
to improve the present state of the Island, and that 
the principal and more wealthy residents are very 
anxious to co-operate with the Government in any 
plans that may facilitate such improvements. I may 
at present just allude to — The sheds, for the £>ro- 
tection of the staple commodity before shipment ; a 
railroad, to convey the salt from the ponds to the 



LETTER ON THE PUBLIC WORKS OF INAGUA. 7 

seacoast ; tanks, to preserve the rain water ; a wall 
across a part of the rich savanna of the interior, to 
keep the wild cattle within bounds and afford security 
for agricultural industry ; and the removal of brush- 
wood in the town, and between it and the ponds, as 
a sanitary precautionary measure. I hope before 
long to have collected, through the kindness of the 
influential gentlemen of the place, all the information 
requisite for me to bring these and some few other 
contemplated improvements before the Governor's 
notice, in such a manner as may enable His Excel- 
lency to judge of their merit and expediency. In 
the mean time, I have examined the southern canal 
and advertised for tenders for the repair of the 
portion that is broken down, and made specifications 
and drawings for that purpose, in which I have not 
considered it necessary to depart from the principle 
of the Surveyor General's plan, being persuaded that 
had his intentions been faithfully carried into effect, 
the disappointment which this work has caused would 
not have resulted. The plan proposed by Mr. 
Martin, there can be no question, is an excellent one 
for such works generally ; but, under the circum- 
stances of the colony, it appears to me hardly 
judicious to bring forward plans, however good in 
themselves, that inevitably incur an expenditure of 
so great an amount as to cripple efforts for improve- 
ments in other works that, for the general well 
being, ought to be simultaneously carried out, and 
in fact without which the benefit of the more finished 
and perfected work would be impeded. I have 
likewise examined Craig's Canal, but as I consider 



8 



LETTER ON THE PUBLIC WORKS OF INAGUA. 



it utterly useless, under existing circumstances, and 
find that the repairs required would almost equal in 
expense the making a new canal, I have ventured to 
depart from the letter of my instructions, and have 
not taken any steps towards its renovation. The 
burial ground I have set out, and advertised for 
tenders for the building of the wall and gate. Owing 
to the irregular placing of the graves I have been 
obliged to enclose a larger space by fifty feet in one 
direction than was contemplated. The "Horse Pond 
Wells" require clearing out, and the pond should be 
rough walled in, to protect it from the cattle, until 
some better receptacle for water shall have been 
devised ; but there is a decided objection to any 
considerable outlay on it, in its inconvenient distance 
from Mathew Town. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, 

Colonial Secretary, 

&c. &c. &c. 



E E P 0 E T 

ON 

INAGFUA AND OTHEE ISLANDS. 



The Governor herewith sends to the House of 
Assembly two Reports, made out by the Out Island 
Civil Engineer, in the months of July and December, 
respectively, in the past year. 

(Signed) A. BAXXERMAX. 

Governor. 

Government House, Nassau. 
11th February, 1856. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
Nassau, July 18th, 1855. 

Sie: 

I have the honor to send you, for the information 
of His Excellenc}^ the Governor, my Report of the 
present state of the public works on the Out Islands, 
with such other information as my instructions requi- 
red me to obtain. 

The prosperity of Inagua depending entirely on the 
great natural advantage that it possesses in its supe- 
rior Salina (which extends for miles, and from which 

2 



10 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



industry can, at a comparatively trifling outlay of 
time and labor, extract a remuneration hardly to be 
credited by those unacquainted with the value of such 
a salt pond as exists on this Island), it is self-evident 
that all public works commenced under the present 
circumstances, should have for their primary object 
the development of the resources of this mine of 
wealth, and the rendering its produce available to the 
greatest possible extent. Keeping this object in 
view, I have investigated the present state of the 
works on the Island, and have endeavored to discov- 
er from those most conversant with its affairs, what 
are the greatest difficulties that the salt proprietors 
have to contend with, and how far those difficulties 
may be met, or in any measure overcome, by the 
adaptation of the public works to their relief. 

The most pressing difficulties appear to be — 

The want of an easy and expeditious mode of con- 
veyance for the staple commodity from the salt pond 
of Mathew Town. 

The want of shelter for the salt whilst remaining 
there awaiting shipment, and — 

The unsafe and precarious embarkation of the salt 
on board, often through a heavy surf, to the exposed 
anchorage where the vessels lie. 

I beg to lay before His Excellency a plan for a 
boat clock, salt houses and railroad, that I believe 
would completely obviate these difficulties, and ena- 
ble the whole Salina in due time to be cultivated 
without any local drawbacks ; and I have the great 
satisfaction, in presenting these suggestions to the 
consideration of the Governor, of knowing that the 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS . 



11 



most influential proprietors on the Island perfectly 
agree in opinion with me, and see nothing of a chi- 
merical character in the undertaking I would propose. 

At the north extremity of Mathew Town there ex- 
ists a small bay, inland of which a dock might be 
constructed, where vessels drawing eight feet of wa- 
ter could remain in perfect security, and be loaded 
without the slightest risk, and at very small cost of 
labor ; as the rock is being excavated for the forma- 
tion of the dock, I would advise, that it be used for 
the commencement of a breakwater at the southwest 
point of the bay — a spot where such a work may be 
hereafter most advantageously completed. On the 
sides of this dock, I would suggest, that the sheds for 
the warehousing of salt (so much desired by the 
proprietors, but objected to, when proposed to be 
built in front of the town), should be erected, as the 
more convenient situation, being close to the place 
of embarkation ; and for the transportation of the 
salt to these warehouses, I would propose a railroad 
in a direct line from the pond, one end to pass 
through the salt houses, and the other to branch off 
around the pond, as the cultivation of the Salina is 
extended. Connected with this plan I would recom- 
mend near the salt houses, that large reservoirs 
should be made, partly excavated in the rock, to re- 
ceive the rain water, which might be collected in 
great quantities from the roofs, which should be 
built with this object, and furnished with proper gut- 
ters for the purpose. If the water from these tanks 
were sold for a trifling sum, it would contribute es- 
sentially to the comfort of the inhabitants of the 



12 



OFFICIAL EEPORTS OF THE 



town and neighborhood ; and this supply of pure 
water would not only obviate the distress often felt 
in dry weather, when the wells now trusted to are 
almost empty, but would prevent disease, which the 
sadly impure state of the water they are now com- 
pelled to use is so liable to produce. 

Of the works already in operation at the salt pond, 
the dams, built to prevent the inundation of the fresh 
water, require repair, the recent continued rains hav- 
ing swelled the water to the north of the dams to a 
height that has injured them, and overflowed the ad- 
jacent keys ; and if this is not remedied, great dam- 
age may hereafter result to the cultivated pond be- 
low. I would recommend, to obviate this danger, 
that the clams be re-constructed and carried up one 
foot higher, and continued over the keys. And to 
protect that portion of the Salina north of the pres- 
ent dams, now commencing to be purchased and 
brougt under cultivation, I would advise that a new 
dam be made across the Salina, half way between 
Craig's canal flood gates and the southern dams. 
Before long another canal to the sea will become ne- 
cessary, and if it be constructed on the south side of 
the proposed northern dam, it could be made to fill 
a large space between the dams, as a reservoir for 
pickle to supply the pans around, as they become 
enclosed. This canal, if properly constructed, might 
also be made to furnish pickle for the whole of the 
remaining uncultivated Salina. 

The road from Rocky Cay to the main road or 
East Avenue, which is set out but not commenced, 
is much called for, the ground on each side being un- 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



13 



der cultivation, and the proprietors without a road 
for the conveyance of their salt from the deposits. 
The roads generally require much repair ; the East 
Avenue particularly should not be allowed to remain 
in its present unfinished state. A bridge is in course 
of construction on the East Avenue, for which I have 
furnished a plan and specification, at the request of 
the Salt Pond Commissioners, made to me through 
the Grown Commissioner. 

Closely connected with the success of the working 
of the salt pond, is the subject of labor, the deficien- 
cy of which in Inagua obliges the proprietors to go 
to a great expense to procure laborers from Nassau 
and other places, who remain in the Island only long 
enough to complete their agreements, and having no 
inducement to settle, return to spend their earnings 
elsewhere — a species of absenteeism very injurious to 
the interests of the Island. I would humbly suggest, 
that if small grants of land, one quarter of an acre, 
or even less, were given to such as felt disposed to 
settle, it would give them a motive for remaining, 
and a local interest for the future, and their spare 
time, when the ponds are not worked, would be most 
usefully and profitably employed in cultivating the 
small plots of ground around their cottages. 

The inhabitants of Mathew Town are very desi- 
rous to have a wharf near the centre of the town 
for the landing of passengers, &c. and I would rec- 
ommend the point between Jib Bay and Commissioner 
Bay as the best suited for the purpose, as it offers 
great natural facilities. The space leading to this 
point would be an excellent spot for a market house. 



14 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



Among the public works peculiarly needed on 
this Island, I must not omit to mention a lighthouse 
or light-staff upon the southeast point. Mathew 
Town is situated on the southwest shore, and the an- 
chorage opposite being exposed, vessels cannot re- 
main there during westerly gales, but must round the 
point I allude to, to obtain the shelter afforded on the 
southeast, where a reef extends for some distance, 
and on which recks frequently occur ; two vessels 
were run aground on this spot about a month ago. 
A light on this point would answer the double pur- 
pose of security against this reef, and as a guide for 
those who might be compelled to shift their anchor- 
age during darkness. 

I have received communications from the Crown 
Commissioner, requesting my attention to the state 
of the prison, to the deficiency of water, and as to the 
best site for the erection of a sun-dial. In conse- 
quence I have visited and inspected the prison, but 
find it so unfit in every way for its object, that I can 
only recommend that another be built of stone, and 
in a more suitable situation ; the present building is 
without ventilation, no separate cells for female pris- 
oners, and no security against escape for any ; and 
being situated in the principal street, it has become 
quite a public nuisance. The only remedy for the 
deficiency of water that appears at present to be 
feasible, is to construct a sufficient number of tanks 
and reservoirs for the preservation of rain water in a 
pure state ; and I would recommend that all the pub- 
lic buildings should have such attached to them, to 
insure a good supply ; and if all the possessors of 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



15 



houses would follow the example being now set by 
several of the principal residents, of building tanks 
to receive the water from the roofs of their dwellings, 
the present distress would be alleviated. I have be- 
fore mentioned that the distance of the Horse-pond 
wells from Mathew Town, and the necessarily impure 
state of the water found there, render them inade- 
quate and unfit as a supply to be depended on. If they 
afforded a sufficient quantity of pure water, pipes 
might be laid down to convey it to Mathew Town, 
but the expense would be considerable, and reser- 
voirs in the town promise a more efficient depend- 
ence ; but the Horse-pond should be cleansed and 
walled in, that the water may be preserved as pure 
as possible. 

The church requires only the internal fittings up, 
expected shortly to arrive from New- York, to be 
made ready for Divine Service, which is at present 
performed in the schoolhouse ; but the grounds be- 
longing to both require enclosing. Adjacent to these 
are several reserved lots, which I might perhaps be 
allowed to remark would be admirably adapted to 
the purpose, from their situation, should it be deter- 
mined to build a larger Government House for the 
residence of the Crown Commissioner, and for a par- 
sonage, should the original intention of appropria- 
ting one to that purpose be carried out. The pres- 
ent residence of the Crown Commissioner being close 
to the shore, might be advantageously converted into 
a Custom House and residence for the receiver of 
Customs. 

Although, as I have said, the present circumstan- 



16 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



ces of Inagua require, that the staple commodity of 
the place should be the paramount and more imme- 
diate object in every undertaking, still it is by no 
means the only resource of this favored Island ; for 
when it is taken into consideration, that it is situated 
in a latitude where the most luxuriant vegetation in 
the world is to be found, and that it possesses large 
tracts of rich prairie ground, and more hilly country 
towards the east, where miles of the best possible 
land for agricultural pursuits is found (and to which 
the proposed railroad would approach within two 
miles), and that close at hand there are two such 
good fertilizers of land as lime and salt — it becomes 
clearly evident, that it only needs a population who 
would take advantage of its resources to render it a 
very garden for productiveness. Amongst the re- 
sources of Inagua ought to be mentioned the cattle, 
horses, pigs and goats, that at present roam wild and 
little sought after, over the savanna that occupies the 
centre of the Island, and which might be with little 
trouble caught for food or labor. I have visited the 
savanna, and saw about twenty head of cattle which 
had been turned out there to graze, and they were 
in excellent condition ; and I have been assured that 
better beef can no where be met with than that pro- 
duced wild in this country. I believe, judging from 
what I observed, there could be no exaggeration in 
saying that fifty thousand head of cattle might be pas- 
tured on the grass covering this extensive tract of 
land, and if leased, it would find ready tenants and 
yield a good revenue to Government, 

There are also some valuable woods found on the 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



17 



Island, some of which has been sold for forty dollars 
a ton. 

I have visited Man-of-War Bay, and walked from 
thence to the savanna, and find, that if a barrier to 
prevent the incursions of the wild cattle were erected 
at this part, it might be carried in a straight line 
from Man-of-Vv r ar Bay to Lake Rosa, a distance of 
about three miles, and that it would enclose about 
three miles by four miles in extent of prairie ground, 
covered at present with grass a foot high ; this would 
afford ample pasturage for at least five thousand 
head of cattle, besides sheep, &c. On the savanna 
there are many ridges and clumps of trees, and making 
use of these, a worm fence might easily be con- 
structed, or if a stone wall were more desirable, there 
are many spots in the direct route, covered with 
stone which might be used for the purpose. The 
advantage of this land so protected, to the well-being 
of Inagua is incalculable, for cattle might be turned 
out there in perfect safety ; and I noticed several 
large natural reservoirs in the rock full of rain water, 
which would ensure a supply for the cattle. At 
present food is very dear, and often scarce, but with 
such pasturage, as this wall would secure, there need 
never be any scarcity of animal food; and perhaps it 
may be worth the attention of Government, whether 
a settlement located in this part of the Island, would 
not greatly tend to the developing of the resources 
of Inagua ; the settlers to look after the cattle and 
cultivate the ground, and living themselves inde- 
pendent of the salt ponds, provide a regular supply 
for the market of Mathew Town, of beef, fruit, vege- 
tables, corn, &c. 3 



18 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



Man-of-War Bay, as its name denotes, is capable of 
floating large ships, the water being deep enough, in 
some parts close to the rocky shore, for vessels of a 
large size to come up. It may "be premature even to 
hint at such an idea, but it would be so perfectly 
feasible to construct a large shipping dock within this 
bay for the protection and repair of steamers and other 
vessels, that I cannot refrain from just mentioning 
the possibility of Inagua possessing, at some future 
day, as its prosperity increases, a public work of such 
importance to the colony, and one that would so 
convincingly prove the value of its geographical 
position. 

FORTUNE ISLAND, OR. LONO CAY. 

The public works on this Island, requiring more 
immediate attention, are : — The prison, the site for 
which has been chosen at such an inconvenient 
distance from Alberts Town, that I have not adver- 
tised for tenders, in the hope that, if possible, it 
may be changed to a situation of greater security. 
The spot at present fixed on is at some distance 
beyond the side of the pond opposite to the town, 
and they say it will be difficult to convey prisoners 
to such a distance, and insecure for the jailor on 
account of the loneliness of the place. The more 
desirable situation would be near the present lock-up 
house, between the pond and the sea. 

The Salt Ponds. — At Alberts Town pond the canal 
requires repair, and the walls of the new portion to 
be raised two feet higher, with a good abutment at 
the outlet to protect the sluice gate, and the walls to 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



19 



be well cemented on the inside and outside. The 
public road across the pond requires to be raised 
two feet higher, to prevent its being overflowed as it 
now is in wet weather, and the several roads crossing 
and leading to the pans should be supplied with 
trunks to conduct the rain water to the sea. 

Alleys Pond. — There is a tolerably good inlet to 
this pond, but it requires a better outlet properly 
constructed and protected to run off the rain water 
quickly, and a dam is needed across the pond to pro- 
tect the cultivated portion. 

Conch divers pond canal requires the flood gate to 
be raised and a breastwork formed to protect it. 
Windsor pond is not yet under cultivation. Some of 
the pans in the different ponds of this island are in 
excellent order. 

Divine service is held in the schoolhouse, which is 
in want of a new roof. The foundation of a church 
much larger than required was commenced and 
abandoned some time ago. The burial ground is 
unenclosed. 

A building for the Crown Commissioner's Office is 
much wanted. 

LONG- ISLAND. 

The works on this Island requiring attention and 
repair are — 

The Road from Chancery Pond. — Instead of 
repairing this road, I would advise that a canal be 
cut to the sea from the pond, which would serve the 
double purpose of letting out the rain water and 
conveying the salt at a cheaper rate. The road is 



20 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



very steep and rough, and would cost, to be properly 
repaired, as much as the making of a new road, and 
the annual expense of keeping it up would be 
considerable. 

This Island has to contend with an unusual diffi- 
culty from its formation, which is much more hilly 
than the generality of salt islands ; and these high 
districts cause an accumulation of water, which, 
unless the outlet to the sea be large enough to admit 
of its speedy removal, overflows the pans, and it has 
frequently happened that the produce of a season 
has been thus destroyed in a few hours. This, I 
apprehend, would be impossible with such a canal as 
I speak of. All the pans on this Island are in such 
very good order, that should the season prove favor- 
able, much salt must be made. 

The canal at Harbor Pond requires to be cut 
deeper and wider at the mouth, and a metal grating 
to be placed across the entrance at this spot, to 
prevent, as far as possible, injury accruing to the 
ponds from the fish. 

The lessees are willing to co-operate with the 
Government in any plans for the improvement of 
these ponds. 

The prison requires a new roof and other repairs, 
the expense of which will exceed the grant made by 
the Legislature. 

A police office is much wanted. 

There is a good church on the Island. The allotted 
burial ground requires enclosing. At present, graves 
are to be seen scattered about in all parts of the 
Island. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



21 



Labor is much wanted on this Island, and I would 
suggest that if a portion of the reserved ground in 
the vicinity of these ponds were given to such 
persons as would settle there, it would tend to the 
removal of this difficulty. 

RUM CAY. 

The canals on this Island require cleaning out, and 
in many places to be deepened. The sides should 
be walled up to prevent the earth from being washed 
into the canals, and the earth should be thrown back 
at least twenty feet from the edges. The inlet to 
the pond requires to be widened and the retaining 
walls repaired, and in some places rebuilt, the foun- 
dations not having been built upon the rock, and 
being otherwise defective. 

A few movable barrow runs or small movable 
bridges are required to enable the proprietors to 
wheel their salt to the temporary deposits across the 
canal. Two of the small bridges need repair. 

During the rains the pans are often overflowed, 
and many heaps of salt swept away. To remedy this 
evil, I would recommend that a dam be made on the 
outside of the cultivated pans in the main reservoir, 
with two sluice gates in it at least four feet high and 
twenty feet broad, extending the whole length of the 
pond now cultivated. Much loss has been sustained 
for want of this dam. 

The main salt pond road requires repair. 

The ground allotted for the deposit of salt should 
be re-arranged according to the number of acres of 
salt pond held by each leessee ; at present it is very 



22 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



irregularly laid out, and many have not room enough 
for the deposit of their salt, and some have no place 
at all. 

The jail needs some slight repair. 

There is no church or schoolhouse belonging to 
the establishment on this Island. Divine service is 
held in the police office, over the jail. 

I may mention that the land in this Island is excel- 
lent, and cultivation might be much extended : at 
present, corn, fruit, vegetables, and cattle are raised 
to some extent. 

NORMAN ? S POND CAY, EXUMA. 

The salt pond on this Island is in a most excellent 
condition throughout, but requiring a good outlet on 
the east side to prevent the pans from being over- 
flowed ; the present canal on the west side is not 
sufficient. 

In front of this small Island there is an excellent 
harbor of considerable extent, protected by a line of 
cays, the anchorage within which is very good, There 
are two channels by which ships may enter this har- 
bor ; the deepest is that between the centre cay, 
named Adderley Cay, which directly faces Normairs 
Pond Cay, and the three rocks called the Three 
Sisters. To mark this spot, I would recommend that 
a beacon should be erected upon Adderley Cay, from 
whence it would be visible for a sufficient distance on 
the outside of these cays. Some time ago, a large 
vessel, that was afterwards wrecked, was seen driving 
past this channel in a heavy squall ; had this opening 
to safe anchorage been known, this vessel might easily 
have put in. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



23 



ST. SALVADOR. 

The jail at Arthur's Town is newly built, and of 
course in good repair, but the arrangement in placing 
a window between the cells, thereby enabling the 
prisoners to see and converse with each other, ap- 
pears to me to be so objectionable, that I should re- 
commend its being filled up. The jail at the Bight 
requires repair, for which a sum of money has been 
voted by the Legislature. 

The soil of this Island is excellent, and produces 
fine pine apples. 

The salt ponds are uncultivated. 

NEW PORTSMOUTH (ROCK SOUND.) 

The wharf at this place, for which a grant has been 
made by the Legislature, is much wanted. 

The road between Tarpum Bay and Rock Sound 
is almost entirely overgrown by the bush, and the 
sum voted by the Legislature for this work is barely 
sufficient for properly clearing the bush for a road 
twelve feet wide. 

The burial ground is unenclosed, and the graves 
are very much exposed — some barely covered. 

Having fully examined into the various modes 
adopted by the salt proprietors on the different 
islands for the working of the salt ponds, it appears 
evident to me that the system of working by shares 
is the one that, under the peculiar circumstances of 
these islands, affords the most satisfactory results. 
Exuma is the only Island amongst those that I have 
visited, that has a sufficient supply of laborers either 
for the salt works or for agriculture, and consequently 



24 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



some mode of proceeding that will overcome this 
difficulty, must be devised before the islands can at- 
tain to anything approaching the remunerating pro- 
ductiveness of which they are capable ; and wherever 
the share system is fairly carried out, I have found 
that the proprietors are better off, and the laborers 
more happy and contented ; the interest that they 
themselves have in the success of the work, counter- 
acts their roving and idle propensities, and thus se- 
cures to their employer at all seasons, the full amount 
of needed labor. 

Another toj)ic I am induced to allude to before I 
close my report, which I hope may not be considered 
irrelevant to its intention, viz : the great advantages 
that would follow from the establishment of a regu- 
lar and speedy interinsular communication in the 
Bahamas. At present (and I can speak from expe- 
rience), it is often uncertain, difficult, and even dan- 
gerous to go from one island to another ; but with a 
moderate sized steamer, most of these dangers, and 
all the uncertainty and difficulty would be avoided. 
The tides and currents run with fearful velocity 
through many of the passages and channels, amongst 
the rocks and islands ; a sailing vessel is often unable 
to resist their force, whereas steam would give a 
power of resistance that would make it compara- 
tively easy to round the difficult points and avoid the 
dangerous rocks. The regularity and speed of steam, 
would connect the islands so much more closely, that 
the produce of one might find a regular and certain 
market at others, and doubtless if such a vessel were 
fitted up for passengers, the intercourse would become 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



25 



frequent and remunerative. The vessel that I should 
recommend for the purpose, would be a small iron 
screw steamer, drawing eight feet of water, fitted up 
for sailing, and constructed to burn either wood or 
coal. A draught of more than eight feet would not 
be advisable, on account of the shallowness of many 
parts of the route that it would be desirable for it to 
take. There is abundance of wood on the islands, 
and it would of course economise to use this for fuel, 
at the same time, that as it could be supplied at the 
different islands, the carrying the great weight of a 
large quantity of fuel would be avoided. A steamer 
of this size might also keep up a regular communi- 
cation with some near port in the United States, and 
neither the original cost, nor the expense of keeping 
it up, would be very great. 

Appended to this report will be found the estimates 
that I have drawn up of the proposed works, and I 
have no doubt they will approach very nearly, if not 
exactly, to the necessary sums ; but as I have not as 
yet had much experience of the local difficulties of 
the Bahamas, I beg to be understood as giving an 
approximate rather than a positive valuation. Every 
country has its peculiar advantages and drawbacks 
for and against the execution of public works, and 
experience alone can authorize an engineer in giving 
a positive estimate. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS 0. HARVEY, 0. E. 



4 



26 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



REPORT OJST ATHOL ISLAND. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
Nassau, N. P. October 5 7 1855. 

Sir : 

Agreeably to your Excellency's instructions, that 
I should examine Athol Island, with a view to its 
being converted into a quarantine station (for which 
purpose your Excellency has lately purchased it), 
and report on all connected therewith, I have proved 
the survey, and examined the situation and taken a 
few soundings, and I beg to state that it appears to 
be a peculiarly desirable locality for such a purpose 
as your Excellency has in contemplation. The Island 
being dry, free from swamps (for the two or three 
spots that from their low situation appear likely to 
be swampy at some seasons of the year might be 
easily drained), and rising in one part to a height of 
30 feet above the level of the sea, would naturally 
lead to the conclusion that it must be a healthy 
situation, which opinion is confirmed by the testi- 
mony of those who have inhabited the Island for the 
last twelve years, and who consider it to be remark- 
ably healthy. The soil is well adapted for raising 
fruit trees, of which there at present number about 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



27 



300 of different kinds — oranges, pears, sugar apples, 
and in fact a specimen of almost every tropical 
fruit, as well as various vegetables. It has also the 
advantage of wells of excellent water. 

The spot that I would recommend as the site for 
the proposed hospital, is nearly the highest point of 
land on the Island, about half a mile from the west 
end. Not very distant from this point is a well of 
excellent water, and another might be dug just at the 
foot of the hill. 

There is a projecting rock at the southeastern side 
of the Island which would be admirably adapted for 
a wharf and coaling station ; in a direct line in front 
of this rock the soundings were 9, 13, 16 feet, and 
along the southern side towards the west, they gave 
i 2, 12, 11 and 10 feet, whilst from the point I allude 
to as good for a wharf, towards Cochrane's Anchor- 
age, distant three and a half miles to the east south- 
east, the soundings were, 16, 14, 18, 17, 22 feet, &c. 
There is good anchorage within two miles ot this 
east end of the Island. Her Majesty's ship Barham, 
drawing 20 feet 4 inches, anchored here in 1829, and 
rode out a very severe southwest gale without 
receiving any injury. 

A large accumulation of sand attracted my atten- 
tion opposite the Narrows, between the end of Hog 
Island and Athol Island, and induced me to inves- 
tigate the various currents that run with considerable 
force through the passages amongst these islands and 



28 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



the rocks and cays around, and I discovered, what I 
suspected to be the fact, that during the northerly 
gales these conflicting currents cause this deposit of 
sand to the south of these narrows, through which 
by far the greatest quantity of sand is driven, and 
which eventually must work down and injure the 
valuable harbor of Nassau. Could the various cur- 
rents which now cause eddies and sand bores be 
brought to run through one channel, its volume of 
water, unimpeded by contrary currents, would, by its 
own force, deepen the present channel across this 
deposit of sand, and it appears to me that this object 
might be attained without difficulty by throwing a 
barrier across from Hog Island to Athol Island, for 
which purpose there is abundance of material close 
at hand ; and this once done, the sand, instead of 
driving through the Narrows and accumulating on 
the bar of sand to the south, would be arrested on 
the northern side, and soon form a beach that would 
effectually and permanently fill up the passage, and 
the whole distance from the west point of Hog Island 
to the east point of Athol Island would be protected, 
and might be preserved free from all obstructions by 
the constant use of a dredging machine, which must 
before long be employed for the widening, &c. of the 
channels in the harbor. 

Deepening the bar at the western entrance, filling up 
the Narrows at the east end, and the constant use of 
a good dredging machine, appears to me all that is 
requisite to make a most excellent harbor for Nassau, 

Should these improvements be carried into effect, 
a lighthouse will be required at the eastern entrance 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS . 



29 



of the harbor, and I have marked an excellent site 
for one on the plan accompanying this report. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your Excellency's 
Very obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

His Excellency 

Sir Alexander Bannerma:s t , 

Governor of the Bahamas, 
dec. <fcc. 



I have also to state that there is a good channel 
from Salt Cay Anchorage, which lies J of a mile 
N. W. of the western end of Athol Island to the 
anchorage of Hanover Sound, h a mile to the N. E. 
of the centre of Athol Island, and that from thence 
the channel to Cochrane's Anchorage passes the 
eastern extremity of Athol Island. T. C. H. 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



REPORT OF FIRE ENGINES. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
Nassau, N. P. October 29, 1855. 

Sir: 

Having been appointed by his Excellency, the Gov- 
ernor in Council, one of a committee to inspect the 
fire engines, and to report on their present state of 
efficiency or capability of improvement, I beg to 
state for the information of his Excellency, that I 
have examined No. 1 and No. 2 engines, and find that 
they are good engines of the kind, but quite inefficient 
in their present condition, for reasons which I pro- 
ceed to explain. The above engines have a stroke 
of 8 inches, and a cylinder of 7 inches in diameter, 
and the power of this sized engine ought to give a 
discharge of 88 imperial gallons of water per minute, 
with 40 feet of hose of the diameter of the discharge 
pipe, and the proper complement of men to work it ; 
but the hose in use here is too small, and connected 
by nuts of different sizes, only one length to each 
engine having a nut the size of the discharge pipe, 
and consequently, should fire or any accident injure 
this first length of hose, the engine becomes useless 
for the time being ; whereas, if the nuts were all of one 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



size, the injured portion might be quickly removed, and 
■•the-remaining lengths fastened to the discharge pipe by 
the second nut. The friction for each additional 40 feet 
length of hose increases the amount of labor 2i per 
cent, and it is therefore highly necessary, in order that 
the utmost power of which a fire engine is capable 
-be obtained, so to proportion the size and length of 
the hose and the position of the engine at a fire, that 
the least possible amount of friction may be pro- 
duced ; if not, its power and of course its usefulness, 
will be materially diminished on this account. Also, 
the hose ought to be exactly the size of the discharge 
pipe of the engine, the friction increasing as the size 
of the hose decreases ; again, the height of the jet 
of water thrown from an engine depending upon the 
degree of condensation of air in the air chamber, it 
is imperative to the obtaining its utmost power, that 
an engine be fully manned. The complement of men 
for the engines in question, is 26 men to each. This 
number would probably be able to keep up the full 
discharge for about three hours, when they would 
require to be reinforced ; but the efficacy of a good 
jet of water must entirely depend on its being di- 
rected to the exact spot required, and the power of 
throwing even a jet of 50 feet may be perfectly use- 
less, if wasted through a short hose. For example, 
a jet of 50 feet of water, if it passed through a hose 
of 50 feet, conveyed by ladders to the top of a build- 
ing adjoining one on fire, would from the pressure at 
that height throw an additional 20 or 25 feet, which 
being directed on the fire, might prove the saving of 
a building. This also shows the importance of all 



32 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



engines being provided with good ladders. Again, 
an engine may become inefficient, or even entirely use- 
less, from its not being air-tight, and unless the 
leathers between the plates &c. are preserved, in 
good condition, it is impossible for any engine to 
continue air-tight. 

I would recommend for the repair of No. 1 and 
No. 2 fire engines, that all the leathers be renewed 
and well coated with a mixture of red and white 
lead, that new guide rods of the pistons be provided ; 
in their present state (one being broken and the 
other bent), they wear the cylinders unevenly, in- 
crease the labor, and cause them to leak ; that both 
engines be painted internally ; also, that the hubs of 
the wheels be smoothed and fitted with washers. 
The man ropes require to be differently placed, 
several accidents having occurred from their present 
position. I would recommend that they be brought 
through a thimble, in the centre of the tongue, be- 
tween the two men guiding, and fastened to the axle- 
tree of the engine, and the handle of the tongue bent 
and made six inches longer, that the men guiding 
may have more power over the engine in turning. 
I beg further to recommend that each engine be pro- 
vided with two lanterns, having reflectors of the kind 
and size used by the conductors of the railway trains 
in England ; also, with a light grapnel, chain and rope 
(one half the size in the crook, and much lighter than 
the large ones now in use) ; also, with 4 axes, 2 hose 
wrenches, and a supply of 6 lever handles, and a 
handcart or tender upon 2 wheels to carry the hose, 
buckets, &c, the engines at present being much en- 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



33 



cumbered and impeded by carrying all the requisite 
implements to the scene of action. A fire bell near 
the police station, to mark in which direction a fire 
is seen, would be of great use, there being always 
some one there who could be on the alert to attend 
to it. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 



THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, 

Colonial Secretary. 

&c. &c. &c. 



5 



34 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



REPORT ON ANDROS ISLAND. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
Nassau, N. P. November 1, 1855. 

Sir: 

Having lately returned from Andros Island, which 
I visited in order to make arrangements for the erec- 
tion of a new prison, for which purpose a sum of 
money has been voted by the Legislature, I have 
to report for the information of his Excellency the 
Governor, that I have decided on a spot that appears 
to be the most eligible situation for the purpose, at 
Coakley's Town, Fresh Creek, and that tenders, &c. 
will soon be issued for the work. 

Whilst at the Island, I visited a small settlement 
at Calabash Bay, and NicolFs Town, on the east side 
to the north of the Island. The chief export at 
present is wood. Extensive tracts of pine trees exist 
in many parts, and ship timber, &c. is found in the 
interior ; but the want of roads renders it very diffi- 
cult for it to be conveyed to the coast. Most of it 
is obliged to be carried on men's heads a distance of 
six miles, by a pathway which is cut for the season ; 
in a few places the creeks afford an easier means of 
conveyance. The quality of the tar extracted from 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



35 



the pine trees of this Island is excellent, and found 
to be superior to that imported, and as the refuse of 
the trees would answer for the manufacture, it might 
become an article of export as well as the trunks of 
the trees, were there facilities of roads, &c. The 
charcoal made in the process of distillation per de- 
censum, is very good, and might meet with a ready 
sale. The soil in many places has been much in- 
jured by the mode adopted, for clearing the land, viz. : 
burning without first felling and removing the trees ; 
this of course, in rocky localities, has destroyed the 
soil, and many persons have left the neighborhood of 
Fresh Creek for the southern part of the Island, 
where they say the land is excellent. Near In icolFs 
Town the soil is good, and fruit, corn, &c. raised ; 
also, a few head of cattle, which thrive very well. 
Myrtle wax is made on this Island, and sold for seven 
pence per pound ; this might also be made an article 
of export. The present mode on Andros Island of 
making this fragrant wax is very primitive, it being 
skimmed from the pot where the berries are boiled, 
by a piece of cocoa-nut shell, and strained through 
a sea fan encrusted with corah 

Fresh Creek runs many miles inland, and is navi- 
gable the first mile for vessels drawing nine feet of 
water ; the entrance is good, and affords safe 
anchorage. 

There are several fresh water ponds in the in- 
terior, and many small streams of good water. In 
Conch Bay, near Xicoll's Town, there are two large 
deep submarine caverns, about ten yards from the 
shore : immediately above these caverns the water is 



36 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



perfectly smooth, and so clear that the interior of 
them can be plainly discerned to a great depth, but 
around the water is continually agitated. This ap- 
parent boiling up must be caused by some rising of 
the water through these caverns, either from springs 
at the bottom, or a stream from the fresh water 
ponds, which are above the level of the sea, through 
some subterranean passage. Not having any appli- 
ances to test the water at the bottom of the caverns, 
I cannot say with certainty whether it is fresh or 
not, but the water at the surface was not very salt. 
The temperature of the water was about the same 
as that some distance from the shore. 

A few oranges and other fruits are exported, and 
the Island appears capable of raising abundantly all 
the tropical fruits and vegetables, and the sea and 
creeks abound with various fish, lobsters, crawfish, 
conchs and turtle. 

At Coakley s Town there is a church, but no min- 
ister : a good government school at Coakley's Town, 
and another at jSTicoll's Town, and a Baptist meeting 
at each. 

$"0 enclosed burial ground. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARYEY, C. E, 

The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, 

Colonial Secretary. 

&c. &c. &c. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



37 



REPORT ON HARBOR ISLAND, 



Out island Civil Engineer's Office, 
December 13, 1855. 

Sir : 

I returned on Saturday last from visiting Harbor 
Island, a part of the northern end of Eleuthera, 
Spanish Wells, and the Bluff, and I beg to report for 
the information of His Excellency the Governor, the 
result of my examination of the public works, &c. 

The proposed plan for the new prison at Harbor 
Island is not suitable for so large a district, and I 
have therefore delayed the commencement of the 
building until the contractor shall have received fur- 
ther orders. The district of Harbor Island, for 
which this prison is intended, contains 3200 inhabi- 
tants, and the average number of prisoners per 
month, for the last five months, has been nine (all 
but one being from Harbor Island) ; the proposed 
jail was to contain only two cells, each of the size of 
9 feet 9 by 12 feet, so that as many as eight men, 
and often more, might have to be confined in the 
small space of 117 square feet. 

The grant from the Legislature not being sufficient 
to make the required enlargement, and to repair St. 



38 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



J ohn's Church, I have been also obliged to delay this 
work ; whilst there I proposed a plan that I believe 
will considerably increase the accommodation in the 
church, and obviate the necessity of petitioning the 
Legislature for a further grant of money ; and when 
I left it was the intention of the rector to call a vestry 
to take the plan into consideration. 

The burial ground is unenclosed, and the graves 
can scarcely be discovered from the confused and ir- 
regular mode of placing them ; more land will be 
continually required, if some better plan is not 
adopted. I suggested to the rector, that it would be 
advisable to call a town meeting to decide on some 
regular plan of proceeding for the future, to econo- 
mise the space, and I have promised to forward them 
a plan for the proper arrangement of the graves. 

The harbor is shallow but well protected, lying be- 
tween the Island and Eleuthera ; were a good chan- 
nel kept open across the bar, which extends from 
Dunmore Town to Eleuthera, large vessels might lie 
in perfect safety near the Eleutheran shore, opposite 
Dunmore. 

Several vessels are in course of construction, one 
nearly completed of a hundred tons burden. 

The town might be greatly improved by the build- 
ing of a wall about 200 feet from the shore, in front 
of the town, across that part of the extensive har- 
bor, where the sea has encroached in some places as 
much as ten feet on the front street ; the enclosed 
portion to be converted into a boat dock, with wharves 
and slips. 

The inhabitants of Harbor Island cultivate small 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



39 



patches of land on the opposite shore of Eleuthera, 
and roads are much needed on the latter Island to 
enable them to prosecute with success their agricul- 
tural pursuits. 

One is much wanted from the landing place from 
Harbor Island to Pitman's Cove, the pathway at 
present used being very circuitous, rugged, and in 
rough weather impassable at the Narrows, over 
which a bridge ought to be built — the sea in tem- 
pestuous weather breaking violently through this 
gorge, and cutting the cove off from communication 
with Harbor Island. 

A bridge across the Narrows would require to be 
90 feet long, and to be built at an elevation of 30 
feet above high water ; but it could be used at all 
seasons, and would make the cove more habitable ; at 
present, not even in cases of severe sickness, can they 
procure advice or help during bad weather. The 
expense of this road would be moderate. 

A road has lately been opened from Bridget Point, 
across Eleuthera, towards Spanish Wells ; this road 
should be extended over the hill to the harbor of 
Harbor Island, that in rough weather, when rounding 
Current Point is dangerous, there might be the power 
of signalizing to Dunmore for boats to cross the har- 
bor ; this road would enable the inhabitants of Dun- 
more and Spanish Wells to attend to their plantations 
on both sides, and to ship their produce in all 
weathers. Even since the opening of the present 
road, a few houses have been built, and plantations 
made, and they are rapidly extending ; corn, arrow- 
root, cassava, potatoes, yams, beans, peas, &c. are 



40 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



already growing luxuriantly nearly the whole extent 
of the road. 

The planting of cocoa-nut trees has latterly en- 
gaged the attention of the people of Harbor Island, 
but not to anything like the extent it might be profit- 
ably carried. 

Spanish Wells is a small island with a well pro- 
tected harbor for vessels drawing about six feet of 
water. The inhabitants number 350, almost all 
i white; they depend on their plantations in Eleu- 
thera, on wrecking, and fishing, for support ; they 
also raise a number of pigs, and. make fishing twine 
and straw hats from the palmetto leaf. They have 
ten fishing smacks and twowre eking schooners belong- 
ing to them. 

There is a small church built of wood, and a "Wes- 
leyan chapel, and. there is a good, public school. The 
burial ground, from being unenclosed is in a sad state, 
the graves washed out by the sea, and rooted up by 
the pigs that run about the town, till bones can be 
seen on the beach and about the burial places on the 
ridge. 

The Bluff is a headland of Eleuthera — no harbor. 
The inhabitants, 800 in number, are all black, with 
the exception of an old white resident and his family, 
a Mr. Kelly, who owns lands several miles in extent. 
The settlement is in a valley, at a short distance from 
the point of land called the Bluff, and the houses so 
entirely surrounded by fruit trees, that they are hardly 
visible. 

There is no wrecking from this place, and the 
people devote themselves to agriculture. They are 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



41 



extending cultivation, and planting rapidly ; almost 
all the tropical fruits may even now be seen there, 
and many vegetables; 500,000 oranges, 1000 bunches 
of bananas and plantains, besides other fruits, and 
arrow-root, cassava, cfec. have been shipped this year, 
and many trees were still full of fruit, which was sold, 
but awaiting shipment. 

A road is much wanted from this settlement to the 
one from Harbor Island to the Cove ; at present, both 
are mere winding paths ; but if one were made to join 
the proposed road to the Cove, it would pass through 
much good land. 

Well water here is particularly good, pure, clear, 
and sparkling, in consequence of the rock being so 
firm and hard ; there is no better anywhere in the 
Bahamas. The inhabitants of this settlement are in- 
dustrious and orderly. About sixty able bodied men 
turned out, and in two days cleared all the roads and 
streets. 

A large swanip close to the settlement extends to 
the current, and is found to be unhealthy, not being 
salt enough to prevent malaria ; I had not time to 
examine thoroughly as to the feasibility of draining 
it, or admitting the sea water. 

Small boats are built here ; four were on the stocks 
when I visited the place. 

There is a small church and a Wesleyan chapel ; 
6 



42 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



no enclosed burial ground, the graves very ir- 
regularly placed, and some hardly to be seen or 
recognized. 

Royal Island is about 34 miles long and very nar- 
row ; the harbor is excellent, about 1 mile long, and 
a i of a mile wide ; vessels drawing 12 feet of water 
can enter at any time and lie there in perfect safety ; 
it is much frequented by vessels from Nassau and 
Harbor Island. The u Skip Jack," surveying vessel, 
and other vessels of the surveying squadron, have 
anchored inside. 

The Island has some pasture land on it, and a few 
pines, and corn, peas, potatoes, and yams are raised. 
There are a few head of cattle, and pigs and poultry. 
It is occasionally resorted to by invalids from Nassau 
and other places. 

I omitted to mention in my report on Andros 
Island, the necessity of a road from the north of that 
Island to iNicoll's Town, and from thence to Fresh 
Creek; the great importance of this road may be 
understood, when it is considered, that vessels might 
be built at the latter jDlace, at a very moderate price, 
if there were means of conveyance for the abundance 
of wood suitable to the purpose, that is found at a 
short distance inland ; and at the same time, that it 
would open a rich and valuable tract of land, that 
would be speedily cultivated. 

I am anxious to bring forward the imperative neces- 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 43 

r 

sity that exists for roads throughout the Out Islands, 
to render the endeavors of the inhabitants successful, 
who now painfully feel the difficulties that surround 
them in every effort they make towards agriculture, 
which efforts, if encouraged, would soon develop 
the many and . great resources of these favored 
islands. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HAKVEY, C. E. 



The Honorable C. K. Nesbitt, Esq. 
Colonial Secretary, 

&c. &c. &c. 



44 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



LETTER ON SALT POND LABOR. 



The Governor herewith lays before the House of 
Assembly a communication from the Out Island Civil 
Engineer, on the subject of a deficiency of labor, 
particularly as connected with the salt ponds, and 
offering some suggestions on this important question. 

(Signed) A. BANNERMAN, 

Governor. 

Government House, Nassau, 
26th March, IS5T. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
February 18, 1856. 

Sir: 

Knowing the deep interest that your Excellency 
takes in the prosperity of the Out Islands of this 
colony, and the well being of their inhabitants, and 
that you consider the progressive improvement of 
the various salt ponds and Salinas to be of vital im- 
portance to this prosperity, I venture to trouble 
you with this letter, to lay before your Excellency 
a few remarks on the subject of salt pond labor, 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS . 



45 



on which I imagine the question of remunerative 
or non -remunerative salt works in these islands to 
hinge. 

The improvements required in the works them- 
selves, and in the modes of transfer for the salt, 
though very important, are still subordinate to the 
first imperative necessity of providing a sufficient J 
* supply of labor, for without this, increased cultivation 
and improved crops would only add to the difficuties 
and embarrassments of the proprietor, instead of ad- 
vancing his prosperity, and improving the revenue 
of the colony. Since my arrival in the Bahamas, I 
have visited most of the more important salt islands, 
and during the examination that I have made of the 
different salt works, I have been everywhere im- 
pressed with the importance and value of the salt 
resources of these islands, and at the same time 
equally impressed with the imperfect development of 
these resources, owing to local disadvantages, and 
chief among these disadvantages I would rank the 
want of efficient labor, the want of a laboring popu- 
lation on each Island, attached and interested in the 
well being of the Island on which they dwell, by the 
strong ties of home ; for your Excellency will, I 
think, agree with me, that a class of wandering j 
laborers, attracted merely by the hope of gaining 
money, and easily tempted by the same hope to wan- j 
der further, must retard rather than advance the 
prosperity of a thinly settled country ; strongly feel- 
ing that this is the great drawback to the improve- 
ment of the Out Islands of the colony, I would 
humbly suggest for your Excellency's consideration. 



46 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



a plan that appears to me likely to meet, and in a 
great measure to overcome this difficulty. At present, 
there are no inducements to lead laboring people to 
take their families to places where it is hardly pos- 
sible for them to obtain lodging, and where food is 
very expensive, and consequently the system adopted 
is for laborers from Nassau or elsewhere, to bind 
themselves to work for a few months in the year, at 
the ponds of the different salt islands, and then to 
return to their homes with the earnings, that for the 
good of the islands should be spent where they are 
gained ; and of course, under such circumstances, the 
wages are often exorbitantly high, and become a 
ruinous tax upon the salt proprietors, whilst at the 
same time, this influx of roving; strangers, has a de- 
moralizing effect on the more stationary population. 
But my conviction is, that many persons would 
thankfully settle on the Out Islands, if a small por- 
tion of land were given to them, on which they could 
build a home for their families, with the certainty of 
employment, and the comfort of independence, which 
would both be theirs if these lots were secured to 
them by the Government. I would suggest that a 
certain number of acres should be appropriated for 
the laborers in the salt works, in proportion to the 
size of the salt ponds on each Island ; say for Inagua,/ 
100 acres, situated between Mathew Town and the 
salt pond, on the main road, to commence one 
quarter of a mile east of the town ; for Long Cay, sixty 1 
acres on or near the Government reserved ground 
round the ponds : for Long Island, forty acres on or 
near the Government reserved ground round the 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



47 



ponds ; for Little Exuma, fifty acres on or near the 
t Government reserved ground round the pond ; for 
Rum Cay, 100 acres of the reserved Government 
ground round the pond, and so on for all the cul- 
tivated ponds ; for the as yet uncultivated Salinas, a 
proportionate number of acres in their vicinity to be 
reserved for future appropriation, the whole to be 
divided into equal portions • a quarter of an acre to 
each man would be perhaps the most judicious size, 
binding the settler to build and live on it for three, 
and not to sell it under twelve years. 

The proposed allotments for the laborers on the 
ponds, will not interfere in the slightest degree with 
any previously appropriated Government land, or 
with individual property. The enclosed sketches will 
show your Excellency the situation of the above 
named lands, plans of which I am prepared to give 
in extenso whenever they may be required. As the 
success of this plan developed itself, and the many 
advantages possessed by these islands became known, 
would it not follow in these days of emigration that 
many would be attracted by the hitherto little appre- 
ciated resources of the Bahamas, and induced to 
choose it as the land of their adoption? 

I have the honor to be, sir, your Excellency's 
Yery obedient, humble servant, 

(Signed) THOMAS 0. HARVEY, C. E. 
His Excellency 

Sir Alexander Bannerman, 

Governor of the Bahamas, 

&c. &c. &c. 



48 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



On motion of Mr. T. W. H. Dillet, (April 14th, 
1857), .Resolved, that a message be sent to his Ex- , v 
cellency the Governor, respectfully requesting His 
Excellency to forward to Her Majesty's Government 
the views of the Out Island Civil Engineer, on the 
subject of granting lands in the vicinity of the salt 
ponds, to promote the permanent settlement of per- 
sons on the Out Islands, and to desire the concur- 
rence of Her Majesty's Government thereto. 

May it please your Excellency, the House of As- 
sembly respectfully request that your Excellency will 
forward to Her Majesty's Government the views of 
the Out Island Civil Engineer on the subject of grant- 
ing lands in the vicinity of the salt ponds, to promote 
the permanent settlement of persons on the Out 
Islands, as expressed in the report of that officer laid 
by your Excellency before the House, and to request 
the concurrence of Her Majesty's Government thereto. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



49 



REPORT 

ON 

ABACO AND OTHER ISLANDS, 



The following message from His Excellency the 
Governor, was delivered by the Secretary of the 
Colony to the House of Assembly, March 31st, 1856. 

Although the termination of the session is at hand, 
the Governor thinks it may be advantageous that the 
accompanying report of the Out Island Civil Engi- 
neer should be laid before the Assembly, with the 
view of its being printed for publicity in the Bahamas ; 
and the Governor will thus have the opportunity of 
forwarding to the Secretary of State the whole of the 
reports presented by the Civil Engineer, in order that 
they may have wider circulation in the United 
Kingdom. 

A. BANNERMAN, 

Governor. 

Government House, Bahamas, Nassau, 
March 3 J st, 1856. 

Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
March 29, 1856. 

Sir: 

Having lately returned from visiting Abaco, seve- 
ral of the adjacent cavs, and the Grand Bahama, I 
7 



50 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



beg to report for the information of His Excellency 
the Governor, that I have examined the public works 
on these islands, and the localities suitable for others, 
and find that for the new lock-up at Cherokee Set- 
tlement, there is a good site on Crown Land, in an 
elevated and healthy situation, not far from the pub- 
lic school ; and at Hope Town, Great Harbor, Little 
Guana Cay, where a lock-up is required, an eligible 
site has been left for the purpose near the harbor. 

At New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay, I have 
entered into a contract for raising and repairing the 
present prison, and for building a wall round the 
grounds. At the settlement at Eight Mile Rock, 
Grand Bahama, the lock-up consists of one cell. I 
would recommend that an additional building with 
two cells should be erected near, and that the present 
one cell be reserved for solitary confinement. 

Large quantities of valuable timber grow on Abaco ; 
forests of pitch pine run nearly the whole extent of 
the Island, and dogwood, madeira, horseflesh, but- 
tonwood, ironwood (black and white), and cedar are 
found in abundance. The maho tree is also growing 
in many parts of Abaco, and on some of the neigh- 
boring cays ; it grows in swampy places, and the 
inner bark makes an excellent and strong rope, that 
is found to last a long time, even under water. 
There are several good harbors for small vessels on 
different parts of the coast, and it is tolerably well 
off for fresh water, there being many ponds, and a 
number of large and very deep holes in the rock, 
which form good natural reservoirs, full of ex- 
cellent water. Among the pine forests there are 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



51 



patches of most excellent land, and extensive tracts 
of flat land in various parts of the Island, that might 
be made available for pasture. Large quantities of 
fruit are grown and exported annually. 

The Island is so overrun by wild hogs, that it is 1 
very difficult to protect the plantations and gardens 
from their depredations. 

At Cherokee Settlement the inhabitants are nearly* 7 
all white, and live almost entirely by fishing, and the 
produce of their plantations. Some vessels are built 
here ; three or four were on the stocks when I left ; 
one, a schooner of fifty foot keel. There are belong- 
ing to this place six fishing smacks and sponging 
vessels. The sound and harbor are well protected, 
and vessels drawing six feet of water may ride in 
safety. They annually ship from this settlement about 
600 head of turtle. 

The houses are all built of wood, and have a gene- 
ral look of neatness and cleanliness. The water, ob- 
tained from wells sunk in the sand, is tolerably good. 

The burial ground is unenclosed. 

Formerly, a clergyman used to visit this settlement, 
and the church service was read during his absence 
by a person appointed by him ; the congregation was 
about twenty. 

There is a large Wesleyan chapel, and a good Gov- 
ernment school. A police office is much wanted. 

At Spencer's Bight there are many fine plant a- v 
tions of pineapples, oranges, &c. ; about 17,000 
oranges were shipped from this place last year, and 
a good supply of pineapples, &c. 

At Marsh Harbor, another agricultural district, 



52 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



there are about 120 inhabitants, chiefly white. 
Oranges are here extensively cultivated ; 48,000 
were shipped from one plantation last year, and sold 
for ten dollars per 1000. Guano has been tried for 
manuring the orange orchards, and been found to 
answer admirably. Last year 333,000 oranges were 
shipped from this place. There are wells of excellent 
water in the rock. 

Throughout Abaco the planting of orange trees is 
very much on the increase, and the raising of pine- 
apples is entered into with much spirit. It is a com- 
monly received opinion that this fruit can only be 
profitably raised on a peculiar kind of soil, i. e. a 
red clavey loam, to which they give the name of 
pineapple land, but experience has proved at Abaco 
that this is one of the many mistaken notions, that for 
want of investigation and trial, so often gain ground 
and check advancement. They have raised the Spanish 
pines, the Matanzas, and the Baraco, in all kinds of 
soil, and even in the cracks of the rocks, where suffi- 
cient depth of earth had accumulated. The Baraco 
is found to be the most profitable variety, producing 
a very large firm pine of good flavor, that keeps 
longer than any other, and is sold a shilling a dozen 
dearer than any other sort. The broad thick long- 
leaf is free from prickles, which is a great advantage, 
for the laborers who work in the pine fields suffer 
severely from the wounds caused by the sharp 
prickles of the generality of pineapple leaves. I 
may mention that the leaf of all the different varieties 
of the pineapple, produces a strong silky fibre that 
is more easily worked than the manilla hemp. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



53 



Attention has been much turned in England lat- 
terly, to the discovery of vegetable fibre that might 
be used for the making of paper and other manufac- 
tures, the present material for which is likely to be- 
come unequal to the increasing demand. Many plants 
growing in the Bahamas are suited for the produc- 
tion of such fibre, and might be most useful in various 
manufactures. The manilla plant is being cultivated^ 
at Abaco, and is found to grow very luxuriantly. It 
is raised from suckers, and may be cut about the 
fourth year ; sooner than that, the fibre is not suffi- 
ciently strong. Banana and plantain grow on this 
Island to a great size, where the bush has been burnt ; 
these also yield a good fibre. The silk grass, they 
have planted ; this is similar in appearance to the 
manilla, but the fibre is much finer. The bamboo, 
growing wild, produces coarse fibre. 

Tons of these various fibre might be exported an- 
nually from the Bahamas. If there was a manufac- 
tory for making it, abundance might even now be 
supplied from different parts of the Bahamas ; and 
many would enter into the cultivation of fibrous 
plants, were they assured of means of disposing of 
the produce, which a central depot at New Provi- 
dence might afford them. 

Manilla fibre is sold at New- York for 300 dollars 
per ton. The manilla, silk grass, and bamboo will 
grow well upon poor land, and might be planted 
upon exhausted pine fields. I have been told by 
the proprietors of pine fields, that the planting of 
manilla would pay better at Abaco, than the planting 
of pines sold for 2s. 6d. per dozen. 



54 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



J Sugar cane is also raised on Abaco, and many of 
the adjacent cays, and found to grow as well as at 
Cuba, or any other West India Island. 

HOPE TOWN, LITTLE GUA1S T 0 CAY. 

v The inhabitants number 320 white, 13 black. 
They have plantations on the main land of Abaco, 
and on the cays named Matelot, Great Guana, 
Angels, Lovers, Quarters, Loo and Scotland, and 
the produce of these, and fishing, form their chief 
support. They say cattle cannot be raised upon 
this Island on account of some poisonous herb, 
which grows there. The soil is a sandy loam well 
adapted to raising potatoes. The water from the 
wells is not very good, but they have several 
large and well made stone tanks attached to their 
houses to preserve the rain water. The harbor is 
excellent and deep, but vessels drawing more than 
eight feet cannot enter, even at high tide, on account 
of the bar. They are building wharves in front of 
the town, which will greatly benefit the place, and I 
would suggest that the same plan be continued in 
front of the site which is reserved for a lock-up, and 
that a strip of land twenty feet wide on one side of 
this reserved lot, be appropriated for a slip for haul-; 
ing up vessels for the use of the inhabitants. Seve- 
ral vessels are building ; one about eighty tons 
burthen, built almost entirely of Abaco timber, is 
intended to trade to New- York with fruit. The ship- 
wrights are in the habit of making copper spikes and 
nails for their vessels, from the old copper and 
copper bolts taken from wrecked vessels. The 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



55 



houses here are nearly all of wood, and the town 
very irregularly built, the main street being only 
twelve feet wide. The Government school appears 
particularly good ; the children orderly and cleanly. 
There is a Wesleyan chapel, but no Church of Eng- 
land service. The burial ground is unenclosed. 

MAN-OF-WAR CAY. 

There are several settlers on this cay. The soil 
is good, but on account of the want of fresh 
water, cattle cannot be reared ; goats thrive well. 
The families support themselves by the corn and 
vegetables they cultivate and occasionally sell, and 
by fishing. Fish and turtle abound inside the reef. 
There are several large well built stone tanks for 
the preservation of rain water. 

NEW PLYMOUTH, GREEN TURTLE CAY. 

It is here that the greatest number of the 
vessels belonging to the Bahamas are built ; the 
shipwrights are excellent workmen, and with the 
advantage of the finest woods for the purpose, 
so near at hand, they might compete with any 
part of the world had they good models ; as it 
is, their vessels are well built and strong. They 
are at present building one seventy-seven feet keel, 
and others of smaller dimensions. A wrecked 
barque was also being repaired inside the harbor. 
The harbor is shallow, but well protected. A 
very bad custom prevails of throwing the ballast 
from boats, and refuse from the town into the harbor, 



56 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



which is already very shallow, and serious injury 
will result if this is not checked. A slip for the 
hauling up of vessels to repair, might be very ad- 
vantageously constructed on the side of this harbor, 
and no doubt it would be the means of saving many 
wrecked vessels, now obliged to be abandoned, from 
the want of means to have them repaired. New 
Plymouth numbers about a 1000 inhabitants, mostly 
white, who support themselves by wrecking, and the 
produce of their plantations on Abaco and the ad- 
jacent cays. They have forty boats for fishing, and 
twenty wrecking schooners. 

The houses are generally very well built, some of 
stone, and nearly all of them provided with large 
well cemented stone tanks to preserve the rain water. 
The public wells are dug in the sand, and the water 
is slightly brackish. Some cattle have been raised 
and fattened, and I am told equalled any in America ; 
but owing to some undiscovered cause, the animals 
have generally, after getting into very fine condition, 
rapidly fallen away and died. I am inclined to at- 
tribute this to their not possessing properly formed 
receptacles for preserving the water free from the 
sand, which appeared to me to be impregnated with 
lime, and as the cattle are allowed to tread this into 
the otherwise excellent water, it may account for 
their suffering when the water becomes low. There 
is good pasture near Black Sound, and Cocoa Bay. 
I would wish to direct attention to a swamp of nearly 
an acre in extent, at the extremity of the town, 
which may prove very injurious to the health of the 
inhabitants, if permitted to continue in its present 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



57 



state. It was divided into lots, and sold upon con- 
dition, that if it was not filled in by a certain time, 
it should be forfeited. The purchasers have aban- 
doned their lots, finding the expense of filling them 
up fully equal to their value, and the land is again 
in the hands of the Government. Feeling that it is 
of great importance that this swamp should be got 
rid of, I venture to suggest, a sa feasible plan for over- 
coming the difficulty, that it be again divided into 
lots, and a street twenty feet wide be run through 
it, the lots to be given in fee to whoever would fill 
them in within eighteen months from the date of 
gift. Many would gladly accept these terms, and the 
fear of epidemics arising from this undrained land 
would be removed. 

There is no Church of England service. A large 
Wesleyan chapel. The burial ground here is 
enclosed. 

I may just mention the names of the principal 
cays that lie to the east and to the north of Abaco 
and the Grand Bahama, some of which are inhabi- 
ted, and all under cultivation ; they produce excellent 
corn, potatoes water melons, &c. : Fiddle, Crab, Man 
J ack, Ambergris. On this cay there is no fresh water • 
Powell's Cay, very good fresh water from holes dug 
in the sand ; good pineapples can be raised on this 
cay ; Spanish Cay, no fresh water ; Hog, Pensicola, 
Allen's, Guineaman's, Umbrella, Moraines, Fish, 
Papaw, Carter's, Stranger's, Double-breasted, Grand 
and Walker's Cay. 
8 



58 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



THE GRAND BAHAMA. 

All the settlements are on the south side of the 
Island, and their plantations run from the east to 
the west point. There are no good harbors on this 
side, but on the north, vessels lie under the lee of 
the cays. 

Hawk's Bill Creek runs across the Island, dividing 
it to the south, excepting where there is a bank of 
sand and low mangroves which close it in. Were 
this bank cut through for about 100 yards, and a few 
feet of rock also cut through, a place of refuge for 
vessels would be formed on this side, and the tides 
would eventually clear a channel through the man- 
groves and accumulated mud. Near this spot is 
Eight Mile Rock Settlement, where there is no public 
road, only a very winding path through private prop- 
erty. To obviate the great inconvenience felt in 
consequence, I would suggest that each land owner 
should give up a strip of land, thirty feet wide, to 
the south of his plantation for a road, in consideration 
of the same quantity being given to him on the north 
side of his property. The proprietors are very de- 
sirous to obtain this road, and those to whom I spoke 
expressed their willingness to make this exchange. 
: They raise cattle and horses to some extent, and 
cultivate corn, potatoes, &c. There are abundance 
of fish, lobsters, and turtle ; of the latter, they caught 
last year about 280 loggerhead, 300 green, and 40 
or 50 hawk's bill. The loggerhead when salted or 
pickled will keep as well as pork. 

The inhabitants of this Island and the cays around, 
only need encouragement to induce them to enter 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



59 



largely into the business of catching and preserving 
the turtle, which would soon increase, and might be- 
come a profitable trade. 

There are seven wrecking vessels and two schooners 
belonging to the Grand Bahama. For the fortnight 
before I visited it, there had been some fifty sail of 
wrecking vessels cruising about the great wrecking- 
ground near Sandy Cay. On this cay there is good 
water. On the north side of the Grand Bahama is 
some sponging ground ; the best sorts obtained there, 
are the sheep wool, boat, and velvet sponges. 

There is a good stone church and a Baptist chapel 
at Eight Mile Rock settlement, and a very good public 
school. 

The burial ground is unenclosed. 

Since visiting Abaco and the Grand Bahama, I am 
more than ever convinced of the imperative necessity 
that exists for steam communication to be introduced 
in the Bahamas, if the many and varied resources of 
its numerous islands and cays are ever to be devel- 
oped for the support of the inhabitants, and the 
general prosperity and advancement of the colony. 

The great variety of productions in the Bahamas, 
when considered as a whole, would, if there existed 
an interinsular steam communication, become availa- 
ble for all, and the cultivation of the land and devel- 
opment of many valuable resources, would speedily 
follow the power of obtaining a sure market. At 
present some cays are, at times, absolutely destitute 
of the very necessaries of life ; whilst at others, per- 
haps not many miles distant, there is a superabun- 
d ance of the very articles required. The inhabitants 



60 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



fear to incur the exoense of agriculture, curing of 
fish, turtle, etc. feeling that no opportunity may offer 
for sending the produce of their labor to Nassau, or 
elsewhere. They are not wealthy enough to run the 
risk, and such pursuits are abandoned, greatly to the 
injury of the whole country through which the pro- 
duce of every part would circulate, were there 
regular and certain means of communication and 
transfer. 

I append to this report the estimates for the pro- 
posed works. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, Esq. 
Colonial Secretary, 

&c. &c. ik.c 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



61 



L E T T E E 

ON 

RENTAL OF SALT PONDS. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
April 8, 1856. 

Sir. 

Your Excellency having favorably received my 
letter of the 18th February, regarding the appropri- 
ation of a portion of land for the benefit of salt pond 
laborers, with a view to mitigating the difficulties of 
the lessees of the salt ponds, 1 am encouraged to 
trouble you again, to lay before you some further 
remarks, which I am anxious should obtain your Ex- 
cellency's consideration. They appear to me impor- 
tant, bearing as they do on the three points that I 
believe include the causes of all the disadvantages 
from which the lessees of salt ponds suffer, and all 
the discontent that prevails amongst them. The first 
of these, viz. : the want of efficient labor, I have 
already fully entered into in the above named letter, 
and the two I would beg now to call your Excellency's 
attention to, are the unfavorable results of the present 
mode of rental, and the unscientific manner in which 



62 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



salt pond property is laid out. The present system 
of selling salt pond by competition, appears to "be 
fraught with many disadvantages, and to act most 
detrimentally on the interest of the proprietors now, 
and for that of the colony ultimately. The upset 
price at present is about £l 10s. an acre; this is 
high, too high for those who are most likely to come 
forward as purchasers ; and the lots being put up at 
auction, often are raised to a much higher sum ; in 
fact, to a fictitious value, that cramps the energy of 
beginners, who having to incur immediately the ex- 
pense of enclosing, making pans, and all the prelimi- 
nary steps towards salt making, at once fall into arrears 
for their rent, and thus commence with difficulties which 
may be overcome before long, should they be so un- 
usually fortunate as to have a succession of fine 
productive seasons, but which must remain to clog 
their efforts, or become insurmountable, should ad- 
verse weather retard or frustrate their efforts. Dis- 
couragement ensues ; they fear to risk more on 
improvements, and their only chance of even small re- 
muneration is found to consist in the plan of charging 
the pans moderately, and raking directly a thin layer 
of salt is formed ; but this plan obliges a constant 
provision of labor, and only those who adopt the 
share system have any chance of making it answer. 
Many persons also consider this thin charging of pans a 
bad plan, and will not follow it. When it is remem- 
bered that these salt ponds are situated in islands 
that are generally very thinly inhabited, and chiefly 
by the humbler classes, who cannot always command 
in these lonely districts even the common necessaries 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



63 



of life, it is self evident that to induce a higher class 
of purchasers to settle, there must be at least a hope 
of certain return, and present moderate expense ; for 
few will venture, when the first outlay is almost sure 
to involve them in difficulties ; and to those who 
having some capital, these drawbacks would not 
prove insurmountable. The want of those comforts 
to which they are accustomed, would deter from set- 
tling, the general well being of all being so crippled 
and uncertain. A moderate and fixed price for all 
Salina, would, I believe, obviate much of the present 
difficulty, and prove an inducement to many to labor 
in so ultimately profitable a business. 

It appears to me that £l 5s. per acre would be a 
fair rental for uncultivated Salina. The average cost 
of putting an acre under cultivation being £25, add- 
ing 6 per cent, interest, i. e. £1 10s. to the £l 5s. 
rental for uncultivated Salina, would give £2 15s. as 
a fair rental for cultivated pond ; and should the fee 
simple be granted, it appears to me that the fixed 
price of £20 an acre would, though moderate, prove 
the most remunerative, so many more would be 
tempted to purchase ; for before the full value of the 
salt islands can be at all understood, they must be 
systematically worked with all the proper arrange- 
ments for transfer, protection, and due amount of 
labor. At present it is only here and there really 
well worked pans are to be seen, and even these have 
no protection against the weather during making, or 
when made ; but could anything like a general system 
be brought about with all possible improvements, 
made to bear on the cultivation and for the protection 



64 OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 

of the staple commodity of the Bahamas, the change 
in the prosperity of the whole, and the revenue of 
the colony would, I apprehend, be far beyond any- 
thing we could at present venture to predict. 

It should be borne in mind that the process of salt 
making in the Bahamas is not by artificial means, but 
by solar evaporation ; and the agents to be employed 
should be well considered, in order that the arrange- 
ments may be suitable to the powerful means called 
into action. 

The sun and wind are laborers of mighty power, 
and can with the same facility work miles as acres ; 
and it were therefore wise so to arrange matters that 
miles should be prepared for their operations, and in- 
stead of allowing the space to be closed up by re- 
strictions and difficulties, high prices and expensive 
labor, everything should be done to encourage the 
rapid cultivation of unappropriated Salina. The fixed 
price should be moderate, the management simple, 
and the labor as easily attainable as possible ; for, 
unfortunately, the rain, so beneficial in the generality 
of agricultural districts, brings speedy and certain 
destruction to this, and requires to be vigilantly 
watched and guarded against. At present no means 
exist of averting the direct evil of heavy showers, 
except alertness in raking and housing the salt the 
first moment it is ready. That greater security might 
be gained, I feel sure, by means of shifting or glass 
roofs to cover the making pans ; and if each proprie- 
tor had a small portion of his pans so secured against 
storms, a certainty would be obtained for that portion, 
and thus a moderate return being assured to him for 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



65 



his outlay, lie would be better able to bear adverse 
seasons. A more moderate and fixed rental would in 
some measure equalize the resources of the salt pro- 
prietors, and a more systematic arrangement would 
naturally follow, to the advantage of all. The other 
point to which I would call your Excellency's atten- 
tion, is the unscientific manner in which the ponds 
are generally laid out. Due consideration has not 
been given to the local peculiarities of the various 
Salinas, and rarely are the outlets for clearing the 
ponds proportioned to the circumstances of their situ- 
ation ; and consequently any unexpected increase in 
the violence of a storm, may endanger the labor of a 
whole season. Almost all the floods, &c. that have 
in many islands threatened ruin, might have been 
provided against by judiciously made canals and 
dams, and proper outlets to the sea. 

Perhaps nowhere would the superiority of locomo- 
tive transfer over that of common roads be more 
apparent than in the salt islands, where every im- 
provement for lessening manual labor is of so much 
importance. Were a regular system of roads laid 
down with a view to their eventually having railways 
constructed on them, a great boon would be bestowed 
on salt proprietors ; for it would be easy so to arrange 
for them to traverse a Salina, that every allotment 
should have the advantage of one by which its pro- 
duce could be speedily conveyed to a place of safety ; 
for all such railways should be connected with sheds 
close to the place of shipment for housing the salt. 
With such roads once made, and sheds ready to re- 
ceive the salt, all the waste now incurred from the 
9 



66 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



common influence of exposure, amounting to from 
20 to 30 per cent, and the still more serious accidents 
occasioned by floods, which often carry away heaps 
from the temporary deposits would be entirely 
avoided. 

If land for the purpose of building sheds were 
given to those who would erect them according to an 
approved plan, it might induce many to enter into 
the undertaking ; and I imagine that if the housing 
and conveying of salt were undertaken by private 
companies, it would lighten the difficulties of the 
lessees, who might be protected from exorbitant 
charges bv a fixed scale. 

Hoping that your Excellency will pardon my hav- 
ing trespassed thus long on your time, 

I have the honor to be, sir, your Excellency's 
Very obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

His Excellency 

Sir Alexander Bannerman, 

Governor of the Bahamas, 

etc. &C. ctC. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



67 



R E P 0 E T 

ON 

ELEUTHERA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
Nassau, N. P. August 2, 1856. 

Sir: 

I have lately returned to Nassau, after an absence 
of many weeks, during which time I visited nearly 
all the southern islands ; and I beg to report, for the 
information of his Excellency the Governor, that I 
inspected the public works, and the sites of those 
proposed to be shortly commenced on each island ; 
and then rode or walked throughout, where it was 
possible to do so, or went from settlement to settle- 
ment by sea, when impracticable by land, with a 
view of collecting such information of interest con- 
nected with the several islands, as I felt might give 
me a more perfect knowledge of the locality and 
exigencies of each. 

ELEUTHERA. GOVERNOR'S HARBOR. 

A grant ha^ been made for the prison so much 
required here, but it is not yet commenced. From 
the unavoidable proximity of this building to the 



68 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



principal street, I would recommend a wall to be built 
round the lot. The population is about 900, and the 
cultivation of the pineapple the principal occupation 
of the inhabitants. They ship between 50,000 and - 
60,000 dozens in the course of the year ; their plan- 
tations are increasing, and they are planting orange 
trees rapidly, of which also they have shipped a 
small number. Corn, potatoes, and other produce 
are also cultivated. Water here is often bad, and so 
scarce as to be purchased at a high price ; it is ob- 
tained from wells on the north side of the Island, and 1 
when heavy rains occur, these wells are covered by 
water. They are shallow, and the cattle have access 
to them. 

There are some valuable woods on this Island ; 
amongst them prince wood, which somewhat resem- 
bles rose wood and might be used for furniture ; it is 
dark and very hard. The bark yields a yellow dye, 
which the settlers in some places use to color lime 
wash for their dwellings ; it gives a very good yellow 
tint. 

There is some pasture land on the north side, and 
in a valley that runs for about seven miles, from 
James' Point to Palmetto Point. An inexpensive 
road might very easily be made to connect these two 
points, and such a road is much desired by the inhab- 
itants. The road to Governor's Harbor from the 
other side of the Island, needs much repair. I would 
suggest that proper wells should be dug at the ex- 
tremity of this road, where good water might be 
procured at all times. Cattle are raised in the neigh- 
borhood of Governor's Harbor, and goats thrive well 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



69 



on the small adjacent cays. There are two good 
harbors, one on each side of the neck of land which 
connects the cay, on which the greater part of the 
town is built, to the main land of Elenthera. In 
both there is safe anchorage for large vessels. 

A good church, a Baptist and a "Wesleyan chapel, 
and a public school. The burial ground is on a sandy 
ridge near the sea, and requires to be fenced in. 

SAVANNA SOUND SETTLEMENT. 

In this settlement there are about 350 inhabitants 
employed in raising pines, oranges, corn, peas, pota- 
toes, &c. The number of orange trees planted is 
rapidly increasing. There is good land and abundance 
of pasture in the neighborhood. There are about 
400 goats. 

There is a good, extensive harbor, in some parts 
two fathoms deep ; and over the bar in the channel, 
which is composed of sand and grass, there is ten feet 
of water. The houses are mostly built in the valley. 
The water is at times very bad, owing to the cattle 
having access to the wells, which are most inconve- 
niently placed at a considerable distance from the 
town in the savanna. 

The savanna extends about 3 h miles. I would 
recommend that a good public well be dug in a more 
convenient locality, and that it be properly protected 
from the cattle. A road is much wanted from this 
place to Tarpum Bay, to give facilities for the culti- 
vation of land. 

Last year about ^,000 bushels of salt were sold 
from the very good salt pond that exists here. 



/ 



70 OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 

There is no church or public school at this settle- 
ment ; a Wesleyan chapel. 

The road to the savanna settlement is very difficult 
to find on the west side. It would be advisable for a 
beacon to be erected at a place called New Path, on 
that side of the Island, to mark the shipping place. 

GLENELGr SETTLEMENT. TARPUM BAY. 

The inhabitants here number about 500, who are 
chiefly engaged in the cultivation of fruit and vege- 
tables. About 25,000 dozen pines aud a few thousand 
watermelons are raised yearly. They possess some 
fifty plantation boats. Good water is obtained from 
wells sunk in the rock. There is a church, but no 
resident clergyman ; a good government school, and a 
Wesleyan chapel The walls enclosing the church 
lot require repair, and the burial ground to be en- 
closed. It is at present in a very bad state ; parts of 
coffins, and even of grave clothes, may be seen on the 
beach. A road from this place to New Portsmouth 
has just been opened. Another road is much wanted 
for the benefit of those towards the eastern side of 

i the Island, who are extensively engaged in cultivating 
pineapples, and have no road ; in consequence of 
which, the only way that a number of proprietors 
have the power of transporting the produce of their 
fields to the seashore is, by the laborers carrying 
them in baskets on their heads — a laborious and ex- 
pensive mode, and at the same time one so tedious 
that the delay it occasions in loading a vessel, often 
obliges much fruit to be cast aside. Such drawbacks 

, as these naturally dispirit the cultivator and retard 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



71 



the extension of pine cultivation, which, considering 
that this fruit obtains its utmost perfection in the 
Bahamas, is to be deplored. 

MW PORTSMOUTH; ROCK SOUND. 

The wharf at this place is proceeding satisfactorily. 
The population is 800, mostly engaged in the culture 
of the pineapple. 30,000 dozens have been shipped 
from this place in one year. They grow the San Bas, 
or St. Bartholomew, a few Spanish pines, and the 
scarlet pine, which ripens early. 

The harbor is well protected. There are two 
wrecking schooners, three sloops, and many fishing 
and plantation boats belonging to the place. 

A roadway is much wanted through the Island to 
the eastern side from this settlement. The prison 
requires repair. No church. A large Wesleyan 
chapel. A very good government school. 

devil's point, etc. 

There is a Salina and many plantations in the 
neighborhood of the Devil's Point. 

At Bamboo Point there is the commencement of a 
Salina, and also several plantations near. The orange 
is partially cultivated. From Bamboo Point to the 
southern point of Eleuthera there are several creeks 
that afford shelter to small craft. Within the differ- 
ent bars which obstruct the entrances to these creeks, 
the water is from four to six feet deep. The depth 
of water over these various bars I found to be as 
follows : at 



72 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



Robins' Creek, the first south of Bamboo Point, 
the water at low tide over the bar is one foot. 

Deep Creek, li miles further south, it is 2 feet. 

Foley Creek, about 1 mile south of Deep Creek, 
about 1 foot. 

Palmetto Creek, I J miles south of Foley Creek, 1 
foot 6 inches. 

Rocky Creek, 2 miles south again, 1 foot. 

Sandy Creek, half a mile south of Rocky Creek, 
1 foot. 

Cawley Creek, 1 mile south of Sandy Creek, 2 feet. 

At Miller's Settlement, 2 miles south of Cawlev 
Creek, there is a cut into the pond. 

From Robins' Creek to Sandy Creek they all 
communicate inland, and much salt might be pro- 
cured by damming in portions of these creeks, the 
earth being retentive. 

There are several settlements on the riclge from 
Robins' Creek towards the south, with plantations and 
cultivation around them, and excellent pasture in 
abundance east of the ridge. Orange trees are being 
planted everywhere, and pine cultivation extended. 
Very fine cattle was raised in this district formerly, 
and attention is again being paid to the raising of 
stock. There are about 500 inhabitants in this dis- 
trict, and they are fortunate in having an abundance 
of good water. A lot for a burial ground should be 
appropriated and enclosed at Skelton Settlement, 
opposite Rocky Creek, which would also be a good 
situation for a lock-up house, which is needed in that 
district. 

At the Waterloo Settlement, inland between Pal- 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



73 



metto and Rocky Creeks, the manilla plant grows 
very luxuriantly, some of the leaves measuring seven 
feet in length. 

Some persons there intend to extend the culti- 
vation of this useful plant. The valuable soap tree 
may be seen in perfection at this settlement. It 
bears an abundance of berries which answer for 
washing quite as well as soap, and being so useful it 
should be cultivated in every settlement. They use 
also for washing, in many places, the leaf of the 
bamboo, which is found in every island in the Baha- 
mas. Myrtle berries, from which the wax is made, 
are abundant. 

At Wemys' Settlement, below Rocky Creek, a 
Baptist chapel is being erected. At Waterloo Settle- 
ment there is a good stone schoolhouse, built by the 
inhabitants five years ago, but there is still no teacher. 

Opposite the Hartford Estate, on the east side of 
the Island, and east of Sandy Creek, there is a reef 
harbor, and vessels drawing sixteen feet can enter it. 
It is named Butler's Bay, and the rocks that mark 
the entrance are called the Egg and Sugar Rocks. 

A road is much wanted from Bamboo Point to the 
south end, and another from Palmetto Creek to Rock 
Sound. There is a road called the Queen's, partially 
opened from Deep Creek to Cawley Creek. 

At the southern end of Eleuthera there are several 
Salinas which could be profitably cultivated. 

From the southern point of this Island, not long f/ 
since, a vessel was sent to Nassau laden with 500 
baskets of land crabs, each basket containing 250, 
which were sold at one shilling per basket, This is 
10 



74 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



considered a most wholesome article of food, when 
in season, by the inhabitants. 

LITTLE ST. SALVADOR, 

On this Island there is a good salt pond, but it is 
uncultivated. The country is hilly, with some pasture, 
and the soil is good and might be cultivated with 
profit. 

ST. SALVADOR. ARTHUR^ TOWN. 

The prison at this place requires a few repairs and 
a wall to enclose it. 

The bridge or causeway should be raised and 
repaired. The pasture in this part is good, and many 
of the inhabitants turn their attention to the raising 
of stock. Corn, pineapples, oranges, &c. are shipped 
from this town, and pineapples especially are being 
increasingly cultivated, more land being taken up 
for the purpose. 

At Bennet's Harbor there are about 150 inhabi- 
tants, who live upon the ridge of the hill and are 
occupied in cultivating their plantations. On the 
east side of this ridge there is plenty of good land 
and fine timber. Cattle, goats, &c. are raised in 
this district. 

There is an unimproved salt pond, which requires, 
before it can be profitably worked, a canal to the 
creek. Salt has been made in this pond. Over the 
sandspit at the mouth of the creek, there is about 
three feet of water, and on the inside of the spit 
vessels can lie in perfect safety in six feet of water. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



75 



Good Hope Settlement (opposite Alligator's Creek). 
The moutli of the creek is dry at low water. The 
land rises here unusully high for these islands. 

Bluff Settlement. — The inhabitants number about 
170. The Island becomes narrow at this part, not 
more than two miles across. Corn, potatoes, &c. are 
raised upon the white land in this district. The 
cultivation of pineapples is just beginning to engage 
their attention. A Baptist chapel at this place. 

Knowles' Settlement. — The population about 60, 
who are engaged in agriculture. They cultivate 
corn, potatoes and pineapples chiefly, and are just 
commencing to plant orange trees. There is a Baptist 
chapel here. 

Bight Settlement, Pigeon Bay. — About 350 inhabi- 
tants engaged in agriculture. Corn, pineapples, &c. 
are raised. Attention is paid to the raising of stock 
in this district. The inhabitants are building a 
church. There are two Baptist chapels and a Govern- 
ment school. The causeway and bridge on the main 
road north of the Bight requires repair, as also two 
bridges and causeways on the main road from the 
Bight to Port Howe. A road has been opened to 
Lake Gambia, which requires cleaning. Salt might 
be made round this lake, for it has been collected in 
very dry seasons on the edge of the lake. It extends 
to within two miles of Port Howe. It is deep in the 
centre, supplied by ocean holes. The length is about 
eight miles, and the width varies from half a mile to 
one mile. Along the borders of this lake the soil in 



76 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



some parts is of a reddish clay, similar to that termed 
pineapple land. In other spots it is rocky. To make 
this lake available as a salt pond, it would be neces- 
sary that a canal of one mile in extent should be cut, 
emptying into Armbrister's Creek at Pigeon Bay. 
Hawk's Nest Creek affords shelter for small craft. 

Devil's Point Settlement. — A reef extends outside 
this point, but vessels can land cargo at French Bay. 
At this settlement the inhabitants number 260, who 
are engaged in cultivating corn, potatoes, &c. and in 
the raising of stock. Many persons here would cul- 
tivate pineapples could they obtain slips to plant. 

Frankfort Creek, (to the east of Devil's Point). 
Here there is about three feet of water on the bar 
at low tide, and deep water within the bar, where 
small craft can lie in safety. 

Port Howe, still farther to the westward, has a reef 
harbor, and large vessels can lie in safety within it. 
The Kangaroo man-of-war, Captain Hookey, anchored 
inside this reef. There is 24 fathoms of water at low 
tide at the entrance. The next bay to the east is 
called Columbus Bay, and tradition makes this to be 
the spot on which the great Discoverer first trod the 
shores of the new world. The situation that has the 
honor of his name is a magnificent one, the land high, 
and open to the Atlantic Ocean. The beautiful estate 
of Miss Fontaine commands this fine view. 

St. Salvador is more diversified with hill and vale 
than the generality of the Bahamas, and has the full 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



77 



benefit of the healthy breezes from the Atlantic, 
being situated on the eastern side ; in consequence, 
the heat of these latitudes is greatly moderated, and 
the climate is more suited to a European constitution^ 
than any other, excepting perhaps the very northern 
islands, which possess many of the same advantages. 
As might be expected, it is by far the best agricultural / 
Island, and very healthy. It is altogether a beautiful 
country, and one well calculated for English emi- 
gration. It possesses extensive pastures capable of 
raising a large quantity of stock, to which occupation 
the inhabitants turn their attention. The cultivation 
of the pine has latterly been much extended, and 
bids fair to become of great importance ; they grow 
to a large size, and are of fine flavor. The Spanish 
pine, which is devoid of prickles on the leaves, might 
be more profitably raised than any other sort in the 
very rich soil of this locality. The planting of orange 
trees also keeps pace with that on the other islands. 
The timber on St. Salvador is fine and large, and 
might be made a profitable branch of commerce ; 
madeira, mahogany, cassada, prince wood, braziletta, 
yellow wood, lignumvita?, are found in almost every 
part, but in the greatest abundance on the east side. 
The cedar and the pine are not found on this Island. 
The palmetto plant, called from one of the uses to 
which it is applied, the " poor man's shingle," is 
found in abundance everywhere. There are three 
sorts of this plant, the silver top, used for making- 
coarse hats and mats, the pond top, the best for fine 
hats, and the Spanish top, of which brooms are 
made. All the varieties are used for covering dwel- 



78 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



lings, in the place of shingles or slate, and if properly 
put on, this sort of roof will last for ten or twelve 
years. It gives a pretty picturesque appearance on 
the outside and inside of the dwellings, as often 
not only the roof but the sides of the houses, are 
covered with this valuable leaf. Ropes for vessels, 
fishing tackle, hammocks, mats, and many other use- 
ful articles are made from the leaf. The palmetto 
grows in abundance on St. Salvador and in all the 
Bahamas. There are several trees that yield gum in 
large quantities, and the bark of others that are 
very little known, which answer for the tanning of 
leather. Button wood is to be met with everywhere, 
the bark of which makes an excellent tan. 

The white population of St. Salvador is thirty-four. 

CONCEPTION ISLAND. 

On this Island there is a large Salina that is dry at 
low water, and might be made into an excellent salt 
pond. The creek is about twenty feet wide, and 
could be converted into a canal at little expense. 

There is also a good harbor and shipping place. 

RUM CAY. 

The population of Rum Cay is about 900, of whom 
42 are white, the greater number engaged in agricul- 
ture. There are two Salinas, Port Nelson and Car- 
michael's, and about 150 persons are employed on 
the salt works of the first of these. The canal that 
has lately been cut through the rock to the sea, to 
let off the rain water which had flooded the salt 
pond, gives them the hope of raking salt this year ; 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



79 



it ought to be cut deeper, and flood gates are neces- 
sary. It would be still more advantageous, if it were 
widened five feet, that in case of a flood the rain 
water might be more speedily drawn off from the 
pond, and it would also then answer for the occasional 
thorough cleansing of the pond. Vegetable matter, 
when allowed to wash into the ponds, causes the 
pickle to become diseased. In proportion as the 
pickle is preserved pure, is the quantity of salt 
raked ; it is therefore evident that it is of great im- 
portance that all means should be used to prevent 
the injurious matter that is washed from the hills in 
heavy showers, from being carried into the ponds. 
They should be kept clean, and the canals in a con- 
dition to throw off as quickly as possible all extra- 
neous matter, and this can only be done by well 
proportioned and well arranged canals, sluices, &c. 
A pond may be made completely useless for a time, 
by being surcharged with vegetable impurities. 
450,000 bushels have been raked from this pond in 
one year when in a good state. 

At the northeast side at Carmichael's, ten miles 
from Port Nelson, there is a Salina capable of being 
made into a good salt pond ; it is supplied by ocean 
holes ; there is no canal. The shipping place is not 
good. There is very excellent land and pasture on 
this Island. A few pineapples are raised, but the cul- 
tivation is not extensive, though the planting of fruit 
trees generally is progressing. Corn, potatoes, &c. 
are raised. There are about 600 head of cattle, 900 
head of sheep, and a few goats ; on the north side 
there is an excellent turtle pond. This Island can 



80 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



boast of the very rare advantage in the Bahamas, of 
roads ; two good ones run through the eay. 

watling's. 

Numbers about 450 inhabitants, entirely engaged 
in agriculture ; 15 are white. There is very good 
land and pasture on this cay, and excellent cattle and 
sheep are raised here. Cockburn Settlement, at the 
Riding Rocks, is the largest on the Island, inhabited 
by about 150 ; the principal plantations are situated 
on the opposite side of the Island, from which they 
are divided by the lakes that run through the centre, 
and from not having a canal they are obliged to drag 
their boats over the strip of land to the lake, morn- 
ing and evening. They are very anxious to have a 
canal cut, to enable them to attend to their planta- 
tions with less difficulty, and as this route is the only 
one across the Island, it would be generally advan- 
tageous. 

There are several unimproved Salinas that in dry 
seasons produce salt. In the interior of the Island 
is a large lake, round which the land varies from one 
to one mile and a half in breadth from the sea ; a 
good road runs all round. A reef harbor at Sandy 
Point is the only one in the Island. 

They have shipped as many as 33,000 oranges in 
one year ; fruit of all kinds might be raised in abund- 
ance on this Island. 

A lock-up is much wanted at Cockburn Town. 

There is a public school, but no church ; a Baptist 
chapel, no enclosed burial ground. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



81 



FORTUNE ISLAND. 

The inhabitants number about 350, of whom 15 
only are white, engaged principally in salt making. 
Formerly cattle were raised to some extent, but not 
latterly. 

The salt ponds are in good order, and in a forward 
state. 

The main road across the salt pond should be con- 
tinued to the front street on one side, and to the 
prison on the other, and if it were continued over 
the Island to the east side, it would be a great im- 
provement and benefit to the Island, it being impos- 
sible to land on the west side during rough weather, 
with a westerly wind, and vessels are often obliged 
to land their cargoes on the eastern side. 

Whilst I was at Fortune Island in June, two per- 
sons from a vessel bound to Trieste, were buried who 
had died of yellow fever. Fortune Island lies in the « 
direct road for vessels going to England, or the 
States, from St. Domingo, and in case of sickness or 
a vessel becoming leaky, they often put in here, 
and some protection appears to be required to pre- 
vent the spread of fever. Would it not be desirable 
to have a hospital in which such persons could be re- 
ceived, that when these cases occur, contagion might 
be prevented? 

ACKLIN. 

The population of this Island is about 370, and 
the chief occupation agriculture. It is a very pro- 
ductive Island, possessing excellent land and good 
11 



82 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



pasture, and fresh water. There are some 500 head 
of cattle on the Island. It is well wooded ; the prin- 
cipal varieties are the wild tamarind, dogwood, ebony, 
braziletto, and madeira. They were raking very good 
salt at Claret Cove when I was there. The Salinas 
are extensive and excellent. Besides the one named 
above, there is one at Abraham's Bay, and another 
at Salina Point. The salt pond at Claret Cove re- 
quires a short canal to be cut from it to the sea j in- 
deed, it cannot be profitably worked without, and I 
beg to call the attention of his Excellency to the 
urgent necessity that exists for this work. 

On the southeast side of the Island, at Claret Cove, 
there is a good reef harbor and shipping place. At 
the eastern end of this cove the channel in the reef 
is twenty-two feet deep, and wide enough for a vessel 
to beat through. There is another good channel 
through the reef, twenty feet deep, immediately op- 
posite the salt pond ; the anchorage inside this reef 
is good, and with but few heads. In several places 
on this Island the cotton plant is growing. I ob- 
served that the cotton was very fine and silky, with 
the staple two inches long ; it appeared to me to be 
the Georgia cotton. 

INAGUA. 

The quarantine laws that are about to be ex- 
tended to Inagua, will be of peculiar benefit to this 
Island, situated as it is in the direct route from many 
southern ports, where visitations of yellow fever, 
cholera, &c. have latterly been almost annual. At 
present there is no impediment thrown in the way of 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



83 



landing diseased persons, and no donbt the sickness 
that has prevailed there at times this year, may be 
attributed to this cause ; but there are other circum- 
stances of a local nature, that may have contributed 
to increase the calamity : and these call for immedi- 
ate attention, and certainly should be remedied as 
speedily as practicable. The Button wood swamp, 
between the salt pond and Mathew Town, is of itself 
a fever engendering district, that should be at once 
drained. Drains also should be carried through some 
of the streets to the sea, that there may be no col- 
lection of water resting in any part. The wind, that 
is most prevalent, blows over the swamp before it 
reaches the town, and of course comes laden with its 
impurities, and thus brings the unwholesome taint of 
the pent up malaria, that rises from the swampy 
ground, and lurks beneath the uncleared bush, in- 
stead of the pure sea breeze. The tramway, and 
various other roads, that intersect this swamp, do 
nothing towards mitigating the evil, but rather aggra- 
vate it, by causing deeper deposits of water which 
have no exit, and can alone exhale by evaporation, 
which in some stages must be very deleterious. From 
the more than probable recurrence of this sad visita- 
tion, unless some speedy means are taken for lessening 
the local aptitudes for contagion, I would recommend 
as the quickest remedy to meet the emergency, that 
culverts be constructed underneath the roads, and a 
ditch be dug from the south extremity of the swamp 
to the sea, one quarter of a mile north of the salt 
pond canal outlet. Carrying out a good system of 
drainage and of clearing the bush, would, we may 



84 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



hope, have a most beneficial effect in preventing 
disease, and this being done, there would be more 
certainty in the good to be effected by boards of 
health and quarantine laws, when snch shall be estab- 
lished. The state of the water is another fearful 
cause of disease ; the wells from which the greater 
number of the inhabitants procure water, are often 
in the foulest state, as many as fifteen head of cattle 
at a time tramping and wallowing in the horse pond, 
from which these wells are supplied. These are about 
to be enclosed by a wall to keep off the cattle ; the 
horse pond should be thoroughly cleared out down 
to the rock, which would then become a good reser- 
voir. A proper watering place for cattle should be 
made outside the enclosure, and two public wells 
also outside the enclosure, supplied with common 
chain pumps should be constructed, and the wells 
themselves covered in. This would prevent (what I 
myself saw), persons walking into the pond with the 
cattle and dipping out water not from the wells, which 
would have been bad enough, and into which they 
also got, but from the pond itself. One gratifying 
fact is attested by residents, viz : that the laborers 
working in the salt pond and breathing the air im- 
pregnated by the salt were free from fever. The 
great need of properly constructed tanks has been 
reported on before, and it appears to be so import- 
ant that any delay should be avoided. I have entered 
into a contract for raising the dams and clearing the 
salt pond canal ; the present canal being inadequate 
for the size of the salt pond, I would recommend that 
a new canal should be cut, with proper sluice gates, 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



85 



at Gabriel's Cut, where they would have the protec- 
tion of the reef. The present canal has only six feet 
for its outlet, but the one I propose should be thirty 
feet wide, which would permit of the rain water 
being expeditiously carried off from the pond. I ex- 
amined the various situations that might be chosen 
as the site for the new prison, and the one I would 
point out as peculiarly adapted for the purpose, is on 
the sea shore, west of the northern extremity of the 
town. 

The wall for enclosing the cemetery is in progress, 
and the masonry is well clone. 

A road from Mathew Town to the prairie is much 
wanted. The lessees to obtain grass for their mules, 
are obliged to send their laborers to the prairie to 
cut it, and the only road thither being the one towards 
Lake Rosa, they have to go ten or twelve miles be- 
fore they can get grass, and it is considered a day's 
work for two men to bring home a single load ; now, 
a road by Smith Town, would enable them to cut 
better grass at a distance of only four and a half mile?. 
I would therefore beg to call the attention of his 
Excellency the Governor to the road which I propose 
should be made to the prairie via Smith Town. 

It would be of the greatest benefit towards devel- 
oping the resources of Inagua, to have a road from 
one end of the country to the other. The interior 
of the country is at present almost a terra incognita, 
from the difficulty of pushing your way through the 
bush, and under the present circumstances (when to 
accomplish a tithe of the works that might imme- 
diately with great advantage to the colony, be started, 



86 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



would be hopeless), perhaps I may be allowed to 
suggest for his Exellency's consideration a plan by 
which the all-important improvement of roads might 
be accomplished in some of the Islands without bur- 
dening the revenue, viz. : That any person or persons, 
who would undertake to make a road thirty feet 
wide, should be guaranteed a portion of land on one 
side of the said road as a remuneration. 

I have not myself traveled through the interior, 
but I am informed from reliable sources that there is 
plenty of pasture and very excellent land in the 
centre of the Island, with no scarcity of fresh water, 
and that fine large timber of various kinds, such as 
madeira, yellowwood one foot in diameter, gumelemi, 
braziletto, lignum vitse, &c. are met with in abundance. 
I may mention that yellowwood yields a gum often 
used by carpenters instead of glue, quantities of 
which might be obtained yearly from all the islands, 
and might become an article of export. The tops of 
the lignum vitse are an excellent food for milch cows. 

Throughout the Island there is abundance of pas- 
ture, and as I have mentioned before, natural reser- 
voirs in the rock full of good water. 

The cattle, since I was there last year, has much 
increased. 

Sugar cane and the cotton plant both grow very 
luxuriantly on this Island. Many cotton plants are 
still to be seen. There are several varieties of cotton 
that have been raised in the Bahamas, but none 
appear to have answered better than the Georgia 
cotton, which is fine, of long staple, and yields more 
than any other. The Anguilla cotton gives about 80 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



87 



or 90 lbs. for a day's picking. This sort becomes 
quite a tree ; the cotton is coarse and not so long a 
staple as the Georgia, nor so good a bearer. 

The Flyaway cotton is silky, with small and light 
pods, the staple very short. 

The Bourbon cotton, which has speckled seed, is 
very inferior in quality. 

There are many creeks around Inagua which might 
profitably be stocked with turtle. 

LONG island. 

The inhabitants number nearly 1,600, 218 of whom 
are white, mostly engaged in agriculture. The land 
of this Island is good, with abundance of excellent 
pasture, and the advantage of good water. The 
general aspect of the country is hilly and picturesque. 
There are many very good Salinas and salt ponds 
throughout. S veral of the salt ponds at the north 
end are unimproved, but make salt. Armstrong 
Pond, 20 miles from the north end, is an excellent 
pond. At the ponds at Great Harbor there have 
been 60,000 bushels of salt made in one year. These 
ponds are in very good order ; about 43 acres are 
under cultivation ; the salt ponds are 87 miles in 
extent. On the south side of the Island, distant 1 8 
miles from Great Harbor, there is a very extensive 
Salina, of which some 13 acres are under cultivation. 
There are about 100 inhabitants in this district. 

Great Harbor, Clarence Town, is of a large size, 
and vessels drawing 20 feet of water can lie in perfect 
safety. It is well sheltered by the mainland, which 
is very high in this part, and by the adjacent cays. 



88 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



The entrance to this harbor is marked by a small 
beacon not sufficiently conspicuous for the situation, 
which should be clearly pointed out that foreign 
vessels might enter at night, it being open sea on the 
outside, and the coast rocky. There are about 140 
inhabitants at Clarence Town, Great Harbor, a church 
and government school, and a Baptist chapel. 

This Island does not abound in timber. There are 
2,000 head of cattle and 3,000 sheep, and many 
horses ; corn, potatoes, &c. are raised and exported ; 
also, 10,000 bunches of bananas and plantains, from 
the northern end of the Island. 

Cotton has at times been grown here, the staple 
and quality of which is considered superior. The 
Island has a good road from the north to the south 
end. The bridges at Boker's, on the main road, 
about nine miles from the north end, require repair, 
as does also Deal's bridge, and Alligator's bridge, 
twenty miles from the northern extremity of the 
Island. A lock-up is much needed at the north. I 
would recommend for it to be built at Simm's Settle- 
ment, fifteen miles from the north end. There is a 
church at this settlement, and a Baptist ckajDel. At 
Deadman's Cay there is a settlement about twelve 
miles north of Clarence Town ; here there is a small 
church and a Baptist chapel. 

LITTLE EXUMA. 

The population of Little Exuma is about 160, 
chiefly engaged in the working of the salt pond, 
which is an excellent one of 240 acres in extent, of 
which 60 acres are under cultivation. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS . 



89 



The pond is in a diseased state, and entirely flooded ; 
much salt cannot be expected to be raked whilst it 
continues in its present diseased state. The turtle 
pond lies between it and the sea, and a good canal 
has been cut in the rock from the salt pond to the 
turtle pond, with a view of supplying it with water, 
or letting off a superabundance ; but as the turtle 
pond is much higher than low water, neither purpose 
is well answered. The water that has been let 
through from the turtle pond to the salt pond, has 
brought with it quantities of vegetable matter, which 
accounts for, and is the principal cause of the dis- 
eased state it is in ; and so long as this canal is used 
as an inlet to the pond, the same result is almost 
inevitable. I would recommend that it should be 
wholly used as an outlet for superfluous water, and 
to be efficient for this purpose it ought to be deepened 
ten inches at the mouth into the turtle pond, and 
from the turtle pond a canal should be cut as quickly 
as practicable to the sea. For the feeding of the 
pond with sea water, the old canal would answer if 
deepened from the mouth. Both this and the canal 
connecting the two ponds require each two properly 
constructed flood gates. The retaining walls require 
to be pointed inside and out, and the sand thrown 
away from the sides. 

The prison at this place requires so much repair, 
that I would recommend for it to be sold, and for a 
lock-up house to be built in a more convenient and 
suitable locality. 

There is no church, nor enclosed burial ground. 
12 



90 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



GREAT EXUMA. 

The inhabitants number nearly 2,000, principally 
engaged in agriculture ; cattle, horses, sheep and goats 
are raised here ; of the first, there are some 400 head ; 
many of the adjacent cays have been stocked with 
hogs, sheep and goats, but they have been destroyed 
in a grievous way by dogs. One proprietor had a 
stock of 300 sheep upon a cay, which were thriving 
well, and the whole of them have been destroyed by 
dogs ; but notwithstanding this disappointment, so 
pro stable is the raising of sheej) considered, that he 
intends to re-stock the cay. There are many instances 
of 20 or 30 sheep being destroyed in one night, not 
only on the cays, but on the mainland ; on some cays 
the whole stock of pigs have been destroyed in the 
same manner. Since the tax upon dogs in New 
Providence, numbers have been taken down to dif- 
ferent small cays and turned adrift, a most pernicious 
and injurious practice, by which much valuable 
property is destroyed ; and these small cays, which 
are so admirably adapted for the raising of animals, 
are rendered utterly useless. 

Throughout the Bahamas the numerous smaller 
cays might be made to supply all the markets of the 
colony, and much more, were they properly attended 
to. On numbers of them goats, sheep and pigs are 
found, and many still remain unstocked ; some of 
these abound with birds, and the eggs of most are 
good for food and innumerable ; turtle eggs are also 
found in great quantities on the sandy beaches. Corn, 
potatoes, and yams, plantains, bananas and other 
fruit are raised and exported from Exuma ; the land 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



91 



is good, and there is plenty of pasture. Cotton was 
formerly extensively cultivated on this Island ; the 
plant may still be found in all the islands, and even a 
few bales are now and then exported, but beyond 
this it has ceased to be regarded as an article of 
commerce from the Bahamas. Since the abolition of 
slavery, the want of labor has caused many of the 
resources of the colony to remain in abeyance, but 
should emigration ever flow towards these shores, 
they would again be called forth, and the importance 
of these productive islands be appreciated and more 
truly valued. 

At Moss Town or Moreley's Hill, there are about 
600 inhabitants in the district, and over 300 in the 
settlement. The plaiting the palmetto leaf is carried 
on here. 

The public school here deserves notice for its good 
order, and the cleanly appearance of the scholars. 

~No church, only a small BajDtist chapel ; two burial 
grounds, both unenclosed. 

A few miles north of Moss Town is a small village, 
inhabited by some 60 families, who are all employed 
on the fine estate called The Forest. Many head of 
cattle are raised here, besides corn, potatoes, &c. 

A schoolhouse is being erected by the people. 

North of this several miles is Steventon, a settle- 
ment containing 400 inhabitants. Cattle and sheep 
are raised in this district ; also corn, potatoes, &c. 

A lock-up is much wanted at this place ; no church, 
a Baptist chapel ; no enclosed burial ground ; a public 
school here. There is a good road from the north to 
the south end of Exuma. The white inhabitants of 



92 



OFFICIAL EEPORTS OF THE 



the two Exumas amount to upwards of 1 60. There 
are many good sheltered harbors between the cays 
and the mainland, and under the lee of several of 
the Exuma cays. 

]N T OKMAN 7 S POND CAY. 

The salt pond here is in excellent order. More 
salt has been made at this pond this year, in proportion 
to its size, than at any other in the Bahamas ; and this 
may be attributed mainly to the pickle having been 
kept in a pure state by the admission of water from 
the sea, to cleanse the pond thoroughly. In common 
with all other salt ponds, it has been deluged with 
rain during the year. 

I am led to remark, from my examination of the 
different arrangements and working of the various salt 
ponds, that were the reservoirs and ponds thoroughly 
cleaned out once a year, by the free ingress and 
egress of sea water, at a time when salt is not pro- 
duced, very much more salt would be raked. 

The one great fault that I find in all the ponds, is 
that the size of the canal is not proportioned to the 
size of the pond, or the locality, whether hilly or 
flat, taken into account. After a severe storm, the 
weather often clears up for a few weeks, and it is of 
great importance that this time should not be wasted. 
A large outlet canal to free the ponds as speedily as 
possible from the rain water, would put them in a 
state to make pickle directly the weather cleared ; 
whereas, now much time is lost before the superfluous 
water can be drained off. This cannot be done 
quickly with a narrow canal. Many of the canals 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



93 



are of necessity long, and the tide rising only about 
three feet from low to high water, there can be but 
little time for the letting in and out of the water. 
Another important consideration is, that the canal 
should be dug to the proper level. The nearer the 
level of a canal can be made to assimilate with that 
of the low water level of the tides, the greater the 
benefit to be derived from it in the working of a salt 
pond, and in no one instance have I found the canals 
of a proper level. 

I may here mention that dams to prevent any 
sudden overflowing of the pickle pans during heavy 
rains are of vast importance, for it often happens 
that floods have carried away large heaps of salt, 
from the want of proper dams between the reservoirs 
and the cultivated pans. 

The prosperity of many of the Bahamas depending 
entirely on salt making, and that of the whole colony 
being affected by it, any improvement or work that 
appeared to promise a more regular return for capital 
invested than is at present obtained, deserves a trial ; 
and as the protection of salt works by glass roofs, 
from the destructive storms so frequent in these lati- 
tudes, certainly holds out the hope (which nothing 
else yet thought of does), of accomplishing this end 
in a great degree, I venture to suggest to His Exce - 
lency the Governor's consideration, the expediency of 
covering in a small portion of salt pond with glass or 
wood, that the benefit to be derived from this expe- 
dient might be practically and thoroughly tested ; 
and if (as I apprehend would be the case), this plan 
secured the producing a regular supply, it would 



94 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



become apparent Low far it would repay each pro- 
prietor to have a larger or a smaller portion of his 
pans so protected. 

SHIP CHANNEL. 

At the head of Exuma Sound, there is a channel 
through which most of the vessels coming to Nassau 
from the south and east must pass On one of the 
cays known as Ship Channel Cay, there is a small 
beacon which is of very little use, as vessels have 
often to lie to in the sound all night for fear of 
missing the right channel. And there being very 
many dangerous passages through this range of the 
Exuma cays, I would beg to recommend strongly 
that a large suitable beacon be erected on the same 
cay. 

I beg to append the estimates connected with the 
works referred to in this report. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E, 

The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, 

Colonial Secretary. 

kc. &c. &c. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



95 



L E T T E E 

ON 

QUARANTINE STATION 

(ATHOL ISLAND). 



Government House, Nassau, 
February 19th, 1851 

The Governor herewith transmits for the in 
formation of the House of Assembly, the plan of 
Athol Island, with proposed quarantine buildings 
thereon, and estimated expense (as furnished by the 
Out Island Civil Engineer), and referred to in his 
opening speech. 

(Signed) A. BANNERMAN, 

Governor. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
\ August 26, 1856. 

Sir: 

In forwarding to his Excellency the Governor the 
plans and drawings for the proposed quarantine 
station on Athol Island, which I have prepared in ac- 
cordance with the directions received in your letter 
of the 7th inst. I beg to state that I decided on 
adopting the plan of detached octagonal buildings, 



96 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



after duly considering various other styles of build- 
ing with reference to their adaptation to a hot climate, 
and to the peculiar requirements of a quarantine 
station, and being convinced that no other offers the 
same facilities for effectual ventilation, for the sepa- 
ration of infected persons from the uninfected, for 
security in gales, and for economy of space and 
material. 

Thorough ventilation is secured by having either 
a door or window in each of the eight sides, so that 
from whatever quarter the wind blows, it may be 
admitted into the building, and by having a centre 
ventilator on the roof with internal valves, by which 
the amount of breeze allowed to circulate may be 
regulated and directed, as required, to, or from any 
side of the hospital; and also by having covered 
gratings in the floor through which the outer air may 
be admitted, when desirable to change the internal 
atmosphere by complete circulation throughout. 
Effectual separation of the healthy from the sick can 
hardly be insured in this climate under the same 
roof; and the object of a quarantine station appears 
to demand that a place of safety be provided for the 
healthy equally with a hospital for the sick, for most 
probably in every vessel condemned to quarantine, 
the greater number of persons on board may be un- 
infected, and to secure, as far as human means can, 
the preservation of such from the sufferings of yel- 
low fever, cholera, or whatever the disease may be 
that brings the vessel under quarantine law, I would 
strongly recommend that the second large building 
in my plan should be erected as quickly as practica- 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



97 



ble after the hospital, if they cannot be built simul- 
taneously, for the reception of those as yet free from 
disease. I would venture to suggest that the same 
plan be adopted, should additional accommodation 
ever become necessary. A third, or even a fourth 
detached building being I conceive far more desirable 
than any addition to those already erected. My plan 
allows accommodation for twenty-five patients in 
each building, as large a number perhaps as ought to 
be allowed. 

The octagonal form is the nearest approach to the 
circular that can be conveniently applied to dwel- 
lings, and consequently it can withstand storms cf 
wind better than any other. Elongated surfaces of wall 
intercept the wind too much for exposed situations 
in tropical climates, for in proportion to their size is 
the danger from the violence of a gale. The narrow 
portion of an octagon that is exposed to the direct 
influence of the wind is too small for any accumu- 
lated power to bear upon it : the sloping sides from 
the opposed front offering no resistance to the wind, 
it glances off. A low octagonal building affords the 
utmost security that can be obtained above ground, 
even in a hurricane. 

The octagon also, next to the circle, encloses the 
largest amount of space in proportion to the length 
of wall, and is therefore the cheapest form that can 
be obtained. The facilities afforded by the situation 
will enable the works to be executed at a moderate 
rate. Stone can be procured on the Island near the 
site, and there is good sea sand on the shore, that 
when thoroughly washed can be used for mortar, 
13 



98 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



There is also plenty of limestone, and wood that 
might be used for burning it, on the spot ; timber 
for the building is all that would have to be brought 
from a distance. If I may be permitted to suggest 
the plan I have known to be adopted elsewhere in 
public work, viz. : that of prisoners being employed, 
the great expense, that of labor, would be so much 
lessened as to reduce the cost considerably below my 
estimate. 

Instead of dividing the building by fixed, solid 
partitions, I would recommend jalousied screens, 
seven feet high, and long enough to reach from the 
walls to nearly the centre of the building ; these 
could be placed as circumstances may require between 
the beds, so as to separate any number from the 
whole range, or be removed altogether in case of only 
a very few sick being in the hospital. Seats placed 
in the veranda would enable convalescents to enjoy 
the sea breezes, the moment recovered strength per- 
mitted of their leaving their beds. 

The veranda round the hospital will prevent the 
possibility of humidity affecting the walls, and the 
flooring being raised three feet, with free ventila- 
tion beneath through semicircular gratings, and a 
drain round each building, all dampness must be 
prevented. 

To avoid the possibility of impure exhalations, I 
would recommend that privies should be constructed 
on the south shore, where the water is deep, and the 
current rapid. 

The quarantine officer's dwelling, and the offices I 
have likewise made octagonal, for the sake of economy 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



99 



and uniformity of appearance, and as being also the 
most commodious. 

The extreme simplicity of these designs will, I 
trust, meet his Excellency the Governor's views in 
regard to his wish, that the buildings for the quar- 
antine station should be perfectly plain, and inex- 
pensive. 

I append estimates of the different buildings, and 
a list of the drawings sent in. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, 

Colonial Secretary. 

&c. &c. &c. 



LIST of drawings. 

A. Geometrical elevation of the hospital. 

B. Plan showing arrangements of beds, &c. 

C. General plan of the relative situation of all the 
buildings. 

D. Elevation of officers dwelling. 

E. Plan of ditto. 

F. Elevation of kitchen and wash house. 

G. Plan of kitchen, showing the disposition of the 
boilers, &c. 

H. Plan of wash house . 

L-ofC. 



100 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



On motion of Mr. T. W. EL Billet, Resolved, that 
a message be sent to his Excellency the Governor, 
requesting him to furnish the House with copies of 
any letters or correspondence he may have received 
from the Out Island Civil Engineer, relative to the 
introduction of convict or other labor into this 
colony. 

Ordered, that the following message be sent to his 
Excellency the Governor : 

May it please your Excellency, the House of As- 
sembly request that your Excellency will be pleased 
to lay before the House copies of any letters or cor- 
respondence your Excellency may have received 
from the Out Island Civil Engineer, relative to the 
introduction of convict or other labor into this colony. 

' Ordered, that Messrs. T. W. H. Dillet, Rigby, Webb, 
and Bell, be a committee to carry the said message. 

In reply to the Assembly's address, the Governor 
sends herewith two letters from the Out Island Civil 
Engineer, one dated 8th, the other the 18th Novem- 
ber, 1856, on the subject of convict labor. 

The Governor, before taking any steps on this im- 
portant question, was desirous to obtain the opinion 
of her Majesty's Government, which he has not yet 
received. Should the House of Assembly entertain 
the question favorably, he would venture to suggest 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



101 



that an address, expressive of the views of the House 
of Assembly , accompanied with Mr. Harvey's report, 
should be sent to the Colonial Minister, and the Gov- 
ernor will be very happy to forward it by the next 
mail. 

(Signed) A. BANJSTERMAN, 

Governor. 



Government House, 

March 19th, 185?. 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



LETTER ON CONVICT LABOR. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
November 8, 1856. 

Sir : 

In several of my reports and letters, I have pointed 
ont to your Excellency the great difficulty and ex- 
pense of accomplishing public works in this colony, 
arising from the want of efficient labor. There are 
many works not in themselves of an expensive 
character that would be of the greatest possible bene- 
fit, which cannot be undertaken solely from the im- 
possibility of obtaining good and cheap labor ; under 
these circumstances the expense of a common road, 
a wharf or such like, becomes exorbitant. My duty 
as Out Island Civil Engineer, has naturally brought 
this subject much under my notice, and feeling that 
it is one of vast importance to the prosperity of the 
Bahamas, and seeing no possible mode in which it 
can be met by any internal resource of the colony, 
I venture to trouble your Excellency with a few re- 
marks on the only remedy that presents itself to 
my mind, one that appears to me would meet all 
the emergencies of the case ; I allude to convict 
labor. The public works of the colony are, as your 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



103 



Excellency is aware, in a very dilapidated and im- 
perfect condition. The islands are scattered over a 
vast extent, from the most northern to Inagua, 
nearly three hundred miles, and none fully inhabited, 
and the peculiarly unenergetic character of the native 
laboring population forbids the expectation of any 
great works being achieved, even for their own im- 
mediate benefit ; to hope therefore, for sufficient labor 
from the inhabitants is out of the question ; and 
though there is much to induce emigration to the 
Bahamas, still even if this were encouraged and suc- 
cessful, it would not meet the difficulties of the case, 
as remuneration sufficient to repay the new settlers, 
would be open to objection on the score of expense, 
which the present state of the colony could not incur. 
The salt works on the various islands require, as I have 
before represented to your Excellency, a systematic 
improvement in their arrangement. A succession of 
adverse seasons, in some cases the unscientific mode 
in which the works themselves are constructed, and 
in others the entire absence of protecting dams, 
proper canals and sluices, have so lowered the re- 
ceipts of the lessees, and crippled their efforts, that 
they cannot extricate themselves, and the salt pond 
revenue is not in a state for them to expect the Gov- 
ernment to help them to the extent they require. 
Might not all these difficulties be met and overcome, 
could the Home Government be induced to send a 
limited number of convicts hither, who could be em- 
ployed in repairing and constructing the public works 
for the benefit of the salt pond proprietors ? 

I have already dwelt at large in my letters to your 



104 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



Excellency, on the works required to improve the 
salt ponds, but I may here advert to the fact, that 
there is rarely, if ever, a season in which salt could 
not be made, if there were in operation the necessary 
means for speedily clearing the pans after rain, and 
for preventing floods by dams, ample canals and 
sluice gates that should at once carry off the water, 
and thus render it impossible to accumulate to a 
dangerous degree in any one spot. There are few 
days in these latitudes in which the process of evapo- 
ration is retarded by continuous rain, and could the 
pans be protected from, or speedily cleared of rain 
water, the sun and wind would soon remedy the mis- 
chief occasioned to the pickle by storms. Proper 
canals, &c. might ensure this result ; but labor is so 
expensive that these required works are beyond the 
resources of the colony without long delays. Convicts 
could be employed in all those works with decided 
benefit to the country. There are throughout the 
Bahamas about 1000 acres in pans, and under culti- 
vation, which may be estimated as one-fifth of the 
number of acres of Salina capable of profitable cul- 
tivation, and after the efficient working of the already 
cultivated pond had been secured by general protect- 
ing dams, wide canals, and so forth, what a field for 
convict labor would be open for Government in the 
bringing portions of the remaining Salinas into the 
same protected condition, for sale or rental. Ponds 
thus protected would no doubt induce many to be- 
come purchasers, and a large increase of revenue 
would be obtained by Government. 

Roads through the various islands would be another 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



105 



most advantageous employment of convict labor. 
These are wanted everywhere, and would open the 
internal resources of the agricultural districts. Valua- 
ble timber for ship building exists in abundance, par- 
ticularly in Andros Island and Abaco, and pineapples, 
oranges and other fruits are raised in large quantities, 
but the want of roads checks the efforts of the in- 
habitants. The imperfect landing places of the Out 
Islands might be easily improved if labor was obtain- 
able and moderate, and the harbors also might in 
many places be made very good ; perhaps none more 
loudly calls for attention than that of Nassau, which, 
from its situation and extent, is capable of being 
made an excellent naval station. All these improve- 
ments might be accomplished if convict labor was at 
the command of the Colonial Government ; and it 
appears from these considerations that there would 
be sufficient and continued employment for a limited 
number of convicts in the Bahamas. 

With regard to the adaptation of this colony for 
such a purpose, it may be remarked, that it has great 
advantages in its comparatively short distance from 
England, in the security afforded by islands not very 
easy of access, in the command of soldiers to guard 
the convicts at work, in its superior healthiness to the 
West Indies, and last, though perhaps not least, in 
the power that any reclaimed convict would have of 
settling after the expiration of his sentence, or by 
ticket of leave for good conduct, into an honest 
laborer on some of the numerous cays, where he 
might with ease support himself, and send for his 
family if he had one, instead of returning to his old 
14 



106 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



haunts and temptations. These and similar consider- 
ations would perhaps prove the Bahamas to be more 
suitable for a penal settlement than the generality of 
the colonies. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your Excellency's 
Very obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
November 18, 1856. 

Sir : 

It gratifies me to find that the views I have taken, 
in my letter addressed to your Excellency, Nov. Yth, 
on the subject of convict labor as applicable to this 
colony, accord with your Excellency's opinion ; such 
being the case, I beg to add to what I therein stated, 
that portable iron lock-up and barracks might be 
readily transported for the use of the guard of 
soldiers, and the safe keeping of the convicts, from 
one island to another, and also that advantage might 
be taken of any of her Majesty's men-of-war cruising 
in the Bahama seas for that purpose. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your Excellency's 
Very obedient, humble servant, 

(Signed) THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

His Excellency 

Sir Alexander Baxxermax, 

Governor of the Bahamas, 

&c. &c. &c. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



107 



It was moved by Mr. T. W. EL Dillet, (April 14, 
1857), that a message be sent to bis Excellency the 
Governor, requesting bis Excellency to communicate 
to her Majesty's Government tbe desire of tbis House, 
tbat a limited number of convicts be sent to tbis colony, 
upon the same footing as convicts are sent to Bermuda ; 
on condition tbat no convict be allowed to remain in 
the colony after tbe term of bis punisbment sball 
bave expired, witbout tbe consent of tbe Babama 
Legislature, in wbicb sball vest tbe power of granting 
tickets of leave, for good conduct, to sucb convicts 
as tbey may deem eligible to be permitted to settle 
in tbe colony. 

May it please your Excellency, tbe House of As- 
sembly respectfully request that your Excellency will 
communicate witb ber Majesty's Government tbe 
desire of tbis House, that a limited number of con- 
victs be sent to tbis colony, upon tbe same footing as 
convicts are sent to Bermuda ; on condition tbat no 
convict be allowed to remain in tbe colony after tbe 
term of bis punisbment shall bave expired, witbout 
tbe consent of tbe Babama Legislature, in wbicb sball 
vest tbe power of granting tickets of leave for good con- 
duct, to sucb convicts as tbey may deem eligible to 
be permitted to settle in tbe colony. 



108 



OFFICIAL EEPOETS OF THE 



EEPOET 

ON 

LITTLE EXUMA & OTHEE ISLANDS. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
January 6, 1857. 

Sie : 

I beg to report, for the information of His Excel- 
lency the Governor, on the state of the public works, 
&c. on the Islands of Little Exuma, Ragged Island, 
and some of the adjacent range of cays: Fortune 
Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, Atwood's Cay, Mari- 
cuana and Inagua. I have very lately returned from 
visiting the above, and it was my intention to have 
also gone to Rock Sound, and to have visited more 
of the cays in my way, but contrary winds and 
boisterous weather precluded my doing so, without 
great delay. 

LITTLE EXUMA. 

The salt pond on this Island is still in a diseased 
condition. The drainings of the land from a consid- 
erable distance to the eastward run into it. I have 
let the contract for building and repairing the east 
and west dams across the pond, which will protect 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



109 



nearly the whole of the cultivated portion of the 
pond from the influx of drainage water. If a dam 
were constructed on the southern side of the pond, 
to connect the two already commenced, the main 
portion of the pond would be completely isolated 
from the shore. I have also let a contract for widen- 
ing the northern canal and deepening it to the level 
of low water mark spring tides. The perfect drain- 
ing of the pond will be secured by these means, and 
there is every reason to believe that all disease in the 
pickle will in consequence disappear ; it will also in- 
sure a supply of pure water for the pond, and it will 
then only require from the lessees a proper manage- 
ment in the letting in and out of water to preserve 
the pond for the future in a healthy state. A very 
large salt shed has just been completed by one of the 
lessees, and another is in progress. The same pro- 
prietor is about to lay down a tramway from the 
centre of the pond to the sea. 

The east and west darns, now undergoing repair, 
might have been preserved in good order, and the 
present outlay been avoided, held they been from 
time to time examined, and slight damages repaired 
as they occurred, and the present diseased state of 
the pond would also in a great measure have been 
prevented. All the dams in the Bahamas are con- 
structed in a similar manner to those of Exuma, and 
I would suggest for the general advantage of all the 
salt ponds, that the possibility of incurring such ex- 
pense be guarded against, for it increases in rapid ratio 
from a very trifling sum to a large amount ; and I 
would recommend that the several canal keepers 



no 



OFFICIAL EEPORTS OF THE 



should be employed to examine all the dams after 
every heavy rain, and to replace or repair any damage 
immediately ; and that they should also keep the 
canals free from any accumulation of mud, &c. By 
doing this, much disease in the ponds would be pre- 
vented, and great after expense avoided. 

A very good road runs from the east to the west 
end of the Island ; sheep in good condition are 
numerous ; and it produces corn, potatoes, dec. There 
are some very fine patches of corn. The water is 
very good ; the public wells are cut in the rock, to 
the east of the town, in the low land. 

There is no government flag staff on Exuma. 

EAOGED ISLAND, AND ADJACENT CAYS. 

The navigation of these islands is intricate and at- 
tended with much danger, in consequence of numer- 
ous rocky shoals and heads, and reefs running out 
from the land, and also from the fearful velocity of 
the currents through many of the passages. The first 
of the cays is called Water Cay, from good water 
being found there. On Flamingo Cay there is some 
good land, and the wild cabbage growing there, were 
it stocked with pigs, would support about 200. 

Nurse Cay is about a mile in diameter, and the wild 
cabbage abundant. 

Little Nurse Cay contains about eighty acres of 
land, and formerly the poor people of Ragged Island 
used to send their pigs to this cay for a few months 
to fatten on the wild cabbage that abounds on this, 
as on the others that I have mentioned. It would 
be a great boon to the poor of Ragged Island if two 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. Ill 

or three of these cays were reserved by Government 
for the purpose. 

Bonavist Cay is about 3000 acres in extent, and 
has some good land on it. I was informed that it was 
rented for three dollars a year. 

Low Water, Harbor Cay, is stocked with sheep. It 
contains but very little good land. 

Soldier Cay is also stocked with sheep. 

Racoon Cay is inhabited by twenty-five persons. 
It has a salt pond on it of about ten acres ; the salt 
raked averaging 18,000 bushels per annum. The 
land is good, and produces corn, potatoes, &c. The 
harbor or bay is 14 fathom deep close in shore ; it is 
open to the southeast. 

Jim's Cay, about ten acres, is stocked with goats. 

Ben's Cay, of the same size, also stocked with 
goats. 

Johnson's Cay has been stocked with sheep several 
times, but they have always died off, it is supposed in 
consequence of feeding on some poisonous herb grow- 
ing there. 

May cock's Cay, about 2500 acres. It has some 
very good land upon it, and plenty of excellent water ; 
it was formerly stocked, but there are no cattle on it 
now, though it is suitable for all kinds. 

Margaret's Cay, about 117 acres, has some very 
good land ; there are fifty head of sheep on it. 

Hog Cay, about 2000 acres of land, is only suitable 
for pasture, and is stocked with cows, goats, &c. ; 
there is plenty of good water. 

Little Ragged Island is about 120 acres. It has 
good water, and is stocked with 300 head of goats. 



112 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



RAGGED ISLAND. 

The salt pond on this Island contains about forty- 
four acres. Half of it under cultivation, and the 
average raking of salt per annum 120,000 bushels. 
It is well laid out, but requires a short dam to pre- 
serve it from the drainings of the land. It is in a 
very healthy state, and reflects the greatest credit on 
the lessees. They have many difficulties to overcome 
in shipping their salt, and incur great expense. The 
anchorage is nearly 4^ miles from the pond, through 
a tortuous creek, and requiring to take advantage of 
the tides, so that very often they can only make one 
trip in a day, the fullness of the tides depending in 
that locality upon the wind In boisterous weather 
they cannot round Salt Cay. These disadvantages 
might be obviated by cutting a channel three-quarters 
of a mile across the shoal in a direct line to the ship- 
ping place, which would enable them to ship salt in 
any weather, and shorten the distance i h miles. 

The roads at present used are rough and steep, 
passing over the hill, and the salt has to be conveyed 
in baskets on the head to the wharves, where the 
barges are loaded, and have to await a full tide be- 
fore the salt can be taken to the loading vessel. The 
roads could not be altered without incurring great 
exj)ense. A railway might be easily constructed from 
the pond to the shipping place, but the size of the 
pond does not warrant such an expenditure. 

The salt pond canal requires widening and deepen- 
ing, and a new gate. 

Ragged Island has about 160 inhabitants, princi- 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



113 



pa^ly engaged in the salt pond. The land is good, but 
little attention is paid to its cultivation. 

There are sixty head of cattle, and a few horses. 

A pound is wanted. They have been obliged to 
remove all the small stock to the cays, in consequence 
of there being few division walls on the Island. The 
late hurricane destroyed many cottages. The roof of 
the church was blown off, and the interior damaged. 
The public school house had the roof blown off, and 
the walls were slightly injured. The prison requires 
a new roof and repair to the doors. There is no en- 
closed burial ground. There is a Baptist chapel, and 
most of the inhabitants appear to belong to that 
persuasion. 

There being no postal communication to this Island, 
it appears shut out from the rest of the Bahamas, and 
I was told they seldom hear from Nassau, except at 
intervals of two months. 

A beacon is much needed on Hog Cay Point to 
mark the western entrance, and as a guide to vessels 
entering the harbor by the western channel. The 
flag staff which served for a landmark for vessels 
bound to Eagged Island, was blown down during the 
hurricane, and it would be advisable for it to be 
replaced. 

FORTUNE ISLAND. 

The road from Albert's Town salt pond to the front 
street is nearly completed. The canal outlet was 
damaged by the late rough weather, which prevented 
the contractor for the repair of the canal, beginning 
until lately on this work. I have let the contract for 
making a good cart road from the front street to the 
15 



114 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



prison, and from thence to the sea on the southeast side 
of the Island, a distance of 3 J miles. This road will 
be of great benefit not only to the lessees of the salt 
ponds, but to the inhabitants generally, it being im- 
possible to load or unload vessels on the north side 
of the Island during northerly winds. Whilst these 
prevail, vessels are obliged to go to the anchorage at 
the southeast side, opposite which this road will 
terminate. 

The salt pond is in tolerably good order. 

There is no police or public office on this Island. 
A small shanty is rented at £12 a year for the pur- 
pose. A lot in a convenient situation, with a good 
substantial wooden house upon it, that has just under- 
gone a thorough repair, might now be purchased for 
a moderate sum. It is in a healthy and elevated 
situation, sufficiently large to serve for a Crown Com- 
missioner's residence, as well as for public offices. I 
would recommend its purchase. 

The walls of the public school house are in an 
unsafe state. They are very much cracked, and other- 
wise defective, and are not worth repairing. The roof 
is thatched. The floor and internal fittings up would 
answer for another building, and 1 would recommend 
that one be erected in a more convenient and less ex- 
posed situation than the present, which is on a high 
sand ridge close to the sea, on the north side of the 
town. 

A wharf is much wanted at Albert's Town, there 
being no other landing place than the sandy beach ; 
and there is at present an opportunity of purchasing 
a strong hull of a large vessel which was wrecked last 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



115 



year, and lies in an excellent position for a wharf, im- 
mediately in front of the town, on the north side. By 
filling this in with stone, and making a proper frame, 
&c. for it, it might be converted into a good public 
wharf 

LONG ISLAND. 

The deepening of the salt pond canal in this Island, 
has already begun to show the great benefit to be 
derived from well adapted outlets, the water in the 
reservoirs having sunk lower than it has ever before 
been possible to reduce it ; and when the canal is 
deepened to low water mark, the difficulty arising 
from the springs in the pans, now so injurious, and 
requiring so much watching and expense to remedy, 
will be overcome. 

The lessee of the public pond has constructed at a 
great expense very high dams to protect the pans 
from inundation. By the widening and deepening of 
the canals, such high and expensive dams become 
unnecessary, in fact, positively injurious to the making 
of salt, by intercepting the wind, the powerful action 
of which upon the pickle is almost as serviceable in 
evaporation as the heat of the sun. 

The lowering of the reservoirs will also get rid of 
another disadvantage from which the lessees suffer, 
viz. : the accumulation of fish, which they have found 
it impossible to destroy, not being able to empty 
their reservoirs" sufficiently. 

The outlet canal is still incomplete, and should be 
continued to the sea the width of the main canal, 
and be provided with two good flood gates. 



116 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



The new roof, and other repairs to the Clarence 
Town prison, have just been completed. 

The new police office will soon be completed. A 
wall is required on two sides of the lot, and a small 
gate in front to the street. 

There is no Government flag staff. 

atwood's cay. 

This cay is uninhabited, although there is some 
good land on it, and plenty of fresh water. There is 
an abundance of fish near, and turtle at the southeast 
end. There is an extensive reef harbor, within which 
the anchorage is good in any part for vessels drawing- 
eight feet of water. The anchorage is also good close 
to the shore, on the north side of Quinquilla Cay, for 
large vessels, and through a channel in the reef on 
the east side of Quinquilla Cay vessels drawing twelve 
feet of water can pass. The western channel through 
the reef is eight feet deep. Between Quinquilla Cay 
and Atwood's Cay the soundings are fifteen, sixteen, 
and eighteen feet. 

MARICUAIS'A ISLAKD. 

The settlement on this Island is at Betsy's Bay, on 
the west side, where there are 20 inhabitants, who 
are engaged in clearing and cultivating, and the pro- 
duce is certainly as luxuriant as in any island of the 
Bahamas. "Where the settlers had cleared, the ground 
was literally covered with peas, potatoes, eddoes, 
corn, &c. There is a tract not far from the settle- 
ment, of red land (termed pineapple land), nearly 
five miles in extent, of good depth and very rich. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



117 



About ten or eleven years ago, it is said, some of the 
finest pineapples in the Bahamas were raised here. 
The inhabitants have been offered a certain sale for 
any number they might raise, but they are not able 
to obtain slips to plant. There is excellent white 
land on the north side, near Curtis Creek, but vessels 
cannot venture on that side on account of the reef. 
The black and red land lie on the south side of the 
Island. There are several savannas of some extent, 
covered with grass two feet high, similar to that on 
the great prairie at Inagua, the proof of the fatten- 
ing qualities of which we have in the excellent beef 
to be had occasionally at Inagua. 

The timber is of large size, and among the varieties 
I saw, I may mention wild tamarind, madeira, horse- 
flesh, green and black ebony, stopper, cassada and 
lignum vitse, and much ship timber, knees, &c. 

There are several Salinas in the Island ; one on 
the north side, at White Hill, three miles long, and 
half a mile wide, situated close to the sea, but there 
is no shipping place on that side. A large quantity 
of coarse grained salt was to be had there last 
August. A cart road might easily be opened to a 
shipping place on the south side, should this salt pond 
be cultivated. 

There is a reef harbor on the south side of the 
Island called Abraham's Bay, with two channels 
through the reef. The eastern one is about twelve 
feet deep, with good anchorage on the inside. 

There is plenty of good water. The inhabitants 
cannot communicate with other islands, or sell their 
produce, excepting when a vessel happens to touch 



118 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



there, for they have not a single boat on the Island. 
They would willingly cut ship timber to pay for a 
boat and sails. The settlers frequently form parties 
to obtain the wild hogs which are numerous. A 
quantity of wrecked material, timber, &c. was drift- 
ing ashore on the north side, when I was there. 

The attention of many persons appears to be 
turned to Maricuana, for I have been applied to for 
information concerning it by several. I would sug- 
gest that it would be desirable for this fine Island to 
be examined, and a good site for a settlement chosen, 
to prevent settlers from fixing on an inconvenient or 
unhealthy spot. 

INAGUA. 

I have surveyed the land for the railway, &c. on 
the north side of Mathew Town, about to be com- 
menced by a company from Jamaica. The establish- 
ment of this company, directing its attention solely 
to the conveyance of salt from the pond to the salt 
houses, and from thence to the vessels, must prove 
of the utmost service to the salt proprietors generally, 
and will be the means of enabling persons of small 
capital to embark in the salt making with success. 
As it is intended that branch railways shall be con- 
tinued to the several allotments. I would recommend 
that a portion of land be reserved for the benefit of 
the public on the north side of the terminus of this 
railway, at Mathew Town, extending twelve chains 
inland from the sea, and six chains wide. 

I also surveyed a lot near this railway on the sea 
side of Gregory Street, for the new prison. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



119 



The dams across the salt pond at Rocky Cay are 
being proceeded with. In common with almost all 
the other roads and dams, they were injured by the 
hurricane. The dam constructed by the Commis- 
sioners between these dams and Craig's has been in- 
jured and requires repair. 

The road called North Avenue has been completed, 
and must prove a great benefit to the lessees of that 
part, and running as it does through the centre of 
the pond, it will also benefit those who shall hereafter 
become proprietors of the upper part of the Salina. 
It will form a continuous road with the East Avenue 
and the present road to Mathew Town. 

The East Avenue still remains unfinished, which 
will be a great hindrance to the lessees in the con- 
veyance of their salt from the pond the coming 
season. 

Twenty wind machines were destroyed during the 
late hurricane, averaging a cost of £20 each. Many 
of the lessees can ill afford this loss, which will 
cripple their efforts for the next season, as, on ac- 
count of the scarcity of labor, it will be very expen- 
sive to fill and clean their pans without machines. 

The main canal was much injured by the hurricane : 
an account of which, and the proposed canal at 
Gabriel's Cut, &c. was submitted by me to his Ex- 
cellency the Governor, Dec. 23d, 1856. 

The wall of the burial ground is nearly completed. 

The Crown Commissioner's Office was destroyed 
by the hurricane, and the material has been used in 
enlarging and repairing the residency, which was 
also injured ; it is now in some degree more comfort- 



120 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



able, and better adapted to its object than it was 
before the disaster. 

I would suggest that the new building required for 
the Crown Commissioner's Office, and for the police 
office, should be raised, to admit of the upper room 
being used for the public library, which at present 
is kept in an unprotected little shanty near the beach. 
The additional expense would be trifling. 

The slight damage occasioned by the hurricane to 
the prison, has been repaired. The keeper's house 
was much injured, but as the new prison is to contain 
a keeper's room, it is perhaps not worth while to re- 
pair it. 

The Government flag staff has been repaired. 

The church had the front door destroyed, the walls 
on the north side cracked, and some injury done 
to the plastering, which is being repaired. 

A new canal keeper's house has been erected near 
the spot where the one destroyed by the hurricane 
stood. 

RUM CAY. 

I have let the contract for . making a wide canal 
from the salt pond to the sea on the southeast side, 
to be cut to the level of low water mark spring tide ; 
and also the contract for the clearing and widening 
of the boating canal with two branches. I would 
recommend that when the above contracts are com- 
pleted, the boating canal should be provided at the 
ends towards the reservoir with sluice gates, that 
that canal should be used as an outlet and boating 
canal, and that the small canal on the north side of 
the pond communicating with the reservoir, should 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



121 



be only used for feeding the pond, and repaired and 
constructed for that purpose : and that the eastern 
canal be properly repaired and only used as an inlet 
or feeder to the reservoirs ; and that the wide canal 
just contracted for, be used solely as an outlet. 
When the pond can be isolated from the land to pre- 
vent any land drainings from flowing into it, the pos- 
sibility of the ponds becoming diseased will be 
prevented. The prison has been repaired, and the 
burial ground enclosed by a stone wall. 

The public road contracted for will soon be 
completed. 

There is no house on this, and several other im- 
portant islands, appropriated for the Crown Com- 
missioners' residences, which must occasion great 
inconvenience to those gentlemen and their families. 

There is no Government flag staff on this Island. 

I subjoin the estimates for the works proposed in 
the above report. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 



16 



122 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



REPORT ON HARBOR ISLAND. 



The Governor herewith transmits for the consid- 
eration of the House of Assembly, the accompanying 
document. 

Report of Out Island Civil Engineer on Harbor 
Island, with explanatory statement, and estimates of 
public works required there. 

(Signed) A. BANNERMAN, 

Governor. 

Government House, 

Nassau. 23d February, 1S5T. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
February 9th, 1857. 

Sir : 

I have the honor to inform you, for the information 
of his Excellency the Governor, that I returned from 
Harbor Island on Thursday last, and that whilst 
there I saw the foundation for the neAv prison laid on 
the solid rock. A quarry has been opened in the 
prison lot, and the stone is of excellent quality. The 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



123 



greater part of the timber for the building, in coming 
from America, was washed overboard during a gale, 
and the work must necessarily be retarded some 
months, to allow time for the arrival of that now 
ordered ; but the stone work was progressing satis- 
factorily when I left. 

The contractors for the repair, improvement, and 
re-shingling of St. John's church, and for enclosing 
the burial ground, intend to commence the respective 
works next month. The church still requires a vestry 
and belfry, and the inhabitants, generally, are desirous 
to have a clock placed in some conspicuous situation 
for the benefit of the town and harbor, and would 
subscribe for the purchase of one, if there were a 
suitable situation for it. I would, therefore, beg to 
suggest, that an inexpensive tower or steeple should 
be erected at one end of the church, the lower part 
for the vestry, with the belfry above, in which the 
clock could be placed, and the whole, from the ele- 
vated situation of the church, would prove serviceable 
as a landmark for vessels 

The two wharves in the harbor require repair, and 
to be extended farther out, as small boats cannot at 
present come up to them at low tide. The spot fixed 
upon for a market house appears well suited for the 
residence of a Crown Commissioner, being on a hi^h 
bluff, overlooking the whole harbor, but badly 
adapted for- a market. The food of the inhabitants 
being principally fish, I would suggest that a more 
accessible, and better locality would be, at the foot 
of the wharf at Gun Point, where also the refuse 
would be readily washed away — an important con- 



124 f OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 

sideration in a sanitary point of view. The wells on 
which the inhabitants of Harbor Island depend for 
their supply of water (almost entirely, there being 
but few small tanks in the town), are dug in the sand 
on the eastern beach of the Island, at a distance of 
nearly 7 00 yards from the front street, and the water 
having to be brought over a high hill in buckets is 
expensive, costing about two pence sterling a bucket. 
I would suggest that the quarry which is now opened 
in the prison lot be converted into a tank. The 
water might be sold for a halfpenny a bucket, which 
would repay the expense of making it. The church 
is not more than thirty yards from this quarry, and 
the site of the new prison is still nearer ; these two 
buildings might supply the tank with rain water, if 
they were provided with gutters, &c. 

A pound is wanted, and if the prison lot were en- 
closed, a portion of it might be reserved for that 
purpose, and the proceeds from the sale of the old 
prison and lot might go towards the building of 
the wall. 

There are two fine schponers building at Dunmore 
Town. 

There is a Government iiag staff, but no nag. 

The road from Governor's Bay to the bay opposite 
Spanish Wells is almost entirely overgrown, which 
causes great inconvenience both to the inhabitants of 
Harbor Island and Spanish Wells. 

In walking through the Island, many medicinal 
plants were pointed out to me by the medical 
gentlemen of Dunmore Town, and upon Eleuthera, 
near Current Point, I am given to understand there 
are many more. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



125 



Land is being cleared for the purpose of extending 
the planting of cocoanuts. I observed the cotton plant 
in several places. Cattle were formerly raised on 
this Island, but from want of proper receptacles for 
reserving the rain water, they did not thrive, and the 
raising of them has been abandoned. 

I append the estimates for the proposed works. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

(Signed) THOS. C. HAKVEY, C. E. 



The Honorable C. R. Nesbitt, 

Colonial Secretary, 

(fee. (fee. &c. 



126 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



L E T T E E 

ON 

THE TENUKE OF SALT PONDS, 



The Governor herewith presents to the House of 
Assembly a letter addressed to him by the Out- 
Island Civil Engineer ; the subject to which it alludes 
may eventually become of vast importance to this 
colony ; it is the proposed conversion of the leasehold 
tenure of salt ponds into freehold. The Out Island 
Engineer states that much valuable information may 
be got from the Legislature, if this question is laid 
before them this present session. 

The Governor, therefore, sends to the Assembly 
the letter of Mr. Harvey, and if the Assembly chooses 
to afford him any information, he will be happy to 
forward it to the Colonial Minister, along with other 
documents on the same subject, by the next mail. 

(Signed) A. BANNERMAN, 

Governor. 

Government House, 
April 2, 1857. 



Out Island Civil Engineer's Office, 
April 2, 1857. 

Sir: 

Your Excellency having drawn the attention of the 
Legislature last year, to the important object of the 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



127 



management of the valuable salt ponds of the colony, 
and alluded to the desire expressed by some of the 
lessees that the tenure by which they are held should 
be changed from the present leasehold to freehold, 
a proposition which your Excellency informed the 
Assembly had been favorably received by Her 
Majesty's Government, but that further information 
was required, I venture to trouble you with a few 
remarks on the subject. The Legislative Assembly 
now sitting contains many members capable of dis- 
cussing the change of tenure in all its bearings, and 
were the question to be brought before them, much 
valuable and decisive information might be elicited. 
It is a subject of the greatest importance to the 
lessees of salt ponds, and one which if carried out 
with care, would certainly relieve the Government of 
much trouble, whilst at the same time it would create 
a greater interest in the Out Islands of the colony 
amongst the inhabitants generally. A large amount 
has been expended by the lessees upon the salt ponds, 
and much additional expense incurred, by the works 
for carrying on the salt making not having been 
properly constructed, or carried to a sufficient extent ; 
these drawbacks may account for the rents being in 
so many cases in arrear. The change of tenure from 
leasehold to freehold would prove of the greatest 
benefit to the present proprietors, who have already 
expended large sums in bringing portions of their 
property into working order, and who would proba- 
bly be thereby induced to settle permanently, and to 
introduce improvements that might perfect the system 
of salt making, they having the prospect of leaving 



128 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



such improvements as a lasting advantage to their 
families, the change would in all probability also be 
the means of bringing much capital into the country, 
and a proportionate increase of revenue must of 
course follow. To ensure that the change of tenure 
should prove not only the boon to the proprietors, 
which your Excellency agrees it is likely to be, but 
also an equal advantage to the Government and 
country generally (for should the leasehold be con- 
verted into freehold, the arrangement will without 
doubt be effected upon such equitable terms as shall 
be approved of by her Majesty's Government), I 
would venture to suggest that it should be granted 
under certain conditions, such as — 

1. That there should be a tax of one halfpenny 
per bushel upon the salt exported. 

2. That all roads on the salt ponds, protecting 
clams and canals, should be executed by the Govern- 
ment, and ever after be kept in repair by the free- 
holders. 

3. That they (the freeholders) should annually 
elect five of their number to examine and see that 
all such works are properly kept in order, and to 
control the arrangements made for the letting in and 
out of water to the ponds. 

4. That there should be one canal keeper to each 
pond, to reside near the most important canal. 

5. That all roads to and from the salt ponds should 
be considered as ordinary roads, and not as salt 
pond roads. 

If this change of tenure were granted, it must 
prove a great boon to the salt proprietors, and if at 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS . 



129 



the same time small allotments in the vicinity of the 
ponds were given to such laborers as felt disposed to 
settle, thus securing a better supply of labor for the 
salt raking than at present exists, it could hardly fail 
to ensure a more prosperous state of things for the 
Out Islands, particularly if the question of convict 
labor for public works should be carried out for the 
Bahamas. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your Excellency's 
Very obedient, humble servant, 

(Signed) THOMAS C. HARVEY, C. E. 

His Excellency 

Sir Alexander Bannerman, 

Governor of the Bahamas, 
&c. &c. &c. 



Mr. T. W. H. Dillet, from the select committee 
appointed on the 27th ult. to whom was referred His 
Excellency the Governor's message, with the accom- 
panying documents, on the subject of convict labor, 
handed in the following report, which being brought 
up and read, was ordered to lie on the table : 

The select committee, to whom was referred the 
message of His Excellency the Governor, transmitting 
certain documents relative to the introduction of 
17 



130 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



convict labor into the Bahamas, and the granting of 
lands to encourage the settlement of laborers on the 
Out Islands, having duly weighed and considered the 
importance of these subjects, beg leave to make the 
following report : 

1. Convict labor. 

The committee being fully aw r are of the wants and 
necessities of the colony, so far as concerns labor and 
the difficulty of procuring it, concur in the general 
sentiments expressed by the Out Island Civil Engin- 
eer, and the resident Justice and Crown Commissioner 
at Inagua, in their communications on the subject. 

The committee is of opinion that the introduction 
of convict labor into the Bahamas, would prove of great 
benefit to the colony, and that the resources of the 
various salt producing and agricultural islands would 
be thereby developed, as it would enable public 
works of greater or lesser magnitude to be accom- 
plished, which are at present prohibited from the 
want of available labor. 

The committee would recommend the House to 
request Her Majesty's Government to send a limited 
number of convicts to this colony, on the same footing 
as at Bermuda ; conditioned, however, that no convict 
be allowed to remain in the colony after the term of 
his punishment has expired, without the consent of 
the Bahama Legislature, in which shall vest the power 
of granting tickets of leave for good conduct, to such 
convicts as they may deem eligible to be permitted 
to settle in the colony. 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



131 



2. It appears to the committee that very great 
benefits would result from the granting of lands in 
the vicinity of the salt ponds to promote the perma- 
nent settlement of persons on the Out Islands ; that 
these benefits would not only accrue to the salt 
proprietor, but would be the means of inducing a 
more industrious class of persons to take up their 
abode there, Many persons now engaged in the 
pursuit of wrecking, might also be induced -to turn 
their attention to agriculture, and thus obtain a surer 
and less fortuitous mode of securing a livelihood for 
themselves and families. 

Entertaining these views, the committee would 
recommend for the adoption of the House, that a 
message be sent to His Excellency the Governor, 
respectfully requesting His Excellency to forward to 
Her Majesty's Government the views of the Out 
Island Civil Engineer on the subject, as expressed 
in his letter to His Excellency, and at the same time 
to request their acquiescence. 

(Signed) T. WM. HENEY DILLET, 

HENRY STEVENSON, 
R. E. RIGBY, 
D. S. FARRINGTOX. 



Committee Room, 

9th April, 1851 



132 



OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE 



The following resolutions were moved and agreed 
to by the House : 

1. By Mr. Doyle: 

Resolved, That in the opinion of this House it is 
most desirable that the existing leasehold tenure of 
the salt ponds in the Bahama Islands may be bene- 
ficially converted into freehold, as such a change is 
pre-eminently well calculated to produce extensive 
improvements in such portions of the Salinas as are 
at present under cultivation ; to cause other parts 
thereof to be brought under cultivation, and to induce 
the investment of a large amount of capital, and the 
profitable employment of much industrial labor; to 
advantage, in many respects, the salt producing islands 
particularly, as well as the interests of the colony 
generally ; and that the terms of such conversion 
may be satisfactorily adjusted hereafter between Her 
Majesty's Government and the Executive Government 
of this colony. 

2. By Mr. Nesbitt : 

Resolved, That it is further the opinion of this 
House that there should be no limitation to the tenure 
(at present limited to twenty-one years), of existing 
leases in such salt ponds, while lessees who may 
prefer retaining their leases to converting them into 
freehold tenure, punctually pay the annual rates of 
rental specified in such cases. 

Ordered, That the following message be sent to 
His Excellency the Governor : 



OUT ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS. 



133 



May it please your Excellency: The House of 
Assembly herewith transmits to your Excellency two 
resolutions, this day passed by the House, in reference 
to the tenure under which the several salt ponds of 
the colony are at present held by the persons culti- 
vating such ponds, and they respectfully request that 
your Excellency will transmit such resolutions to 
Her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the 
Colonies, as expressive of the opinion entertained by 
the House on the subject in question. 

Ordered, That Mr. Doyle, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. 
Farrington and Mr. T. W. H. Dillet, be a committee 
to carry the said message. 

On motion, the House adjourned. 



